


Vinlander

by Blue_fantasy



Series: Vinlander Series [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), Vikings (TV)
Genre: 8th Century, Alternate Universe - Outlander Fusion, Alternate Universe - Vikings, Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Babies, Because someone at Marvel didn't do their homework, Blood and Gore, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, I'm trying my hardest, Improper Use of the Tesseract, It's an AU, Its fanfiction so just have fun, Kattegat (Vikings), Killing, Loki and Thor are aged up, Minor Floki/Helga, Minor Jane Foster/Thor, Norwegians please forgive me if I make geographical mistakes, Outlander story and plot elements, POV Darcy Lewis, Please give me a break, Sexual Assault, Time Travel, Time Travel Is Messy, With swords and axes and knives and fists, just let me have this, medieval times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:16:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25392985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_fantasy/pseuds/Blue_fantasy
Summary: The year is 2012. Darcy Lewis, a S.H.I.E.L.D. lab assistant (or intern) to astrophysicist Jane Foster, is transferred with her boss to Norway to build a specialized prison cell. Shortly after the prisoner arrives along with the Tesseract, Darcy is accidentally transported from the lab. Suddenly she is a Vinlander--a person from the lands far to the west--in Viking territory torn by warring clans during the late 8th century.Hurled back in time by the Tesseract, an object she is unable to hold and control let alone understand, Darcy is catapulted into the intrigues of Viking kings, queens, warriors, and Gods that may threaten her life...and steal her heart. For here Loki, the Norse God of Mischief, shows her protection and a love so intense that Darcy becomes a woman torn between wanting to return to her own time where he is a hated enemy and the desire to be with the version of him she loves...and between vastly different versions of her own two irreconcilable lives.
Relationships: Darcy Lewis/Loki
Series: Vinlander Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023600
Comments: 294
Kudos: 311





	1. Hello, Darcy

**Author's Note:**

> A MCU/Vikings(TV) Crossover AU with Outlander-inspired story elements
> 
> Vinland is the Norse name for the area of coastal North America explored by Norse Vikings, where Leif Erikson first landed around AD 1000.
> 
> The summary is inspired by the book jacket description for Outlander.
> 
> The title is a play on Outlander. In that story, the time traveler is from England, known as an Outlander in Scotland. North America was known as Vinland by the Vikings. Darcy is from North America so I played with that and called her a Vinlander.
> 
> Thanks so much to my wonderful beta, @River_glass (on AO3) & @river--glass (on Tumblr)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and Jane get transferred to Norway and all hell breaks loose...back in New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to my wonderful betas:  
> @River_glass (on AO3) & @river--glass (on Tumblr)  
> @Whovianbi___girl (on AO3) & @whovinabi (on Tumblr)

__

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

May 5, 2012

Covert S.H.I.E.L.D. Astrophysics Lab

Tromsø, Norway

She was livid.

She had been livid since she heard what Loki had put Erik through, heard about all those people who had lost their lives in New York. And now that she knew all that separated her from the God of Catastrophe was a short hallway, a locked door she should be able to open with her identification, and some sort of Asgardian security laser beam screen thingy…

...well, she was gonna do something. As soon as she could skirt by Thor, she would be in front of Loki’s cell giving him a piece of her mind.

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

Two weeks earlier Jane abruptly informed Darcy that they were being transferred to a lab in Norway, like freeze-your-butt-off Norway. The crazy thing was she had been to Norway before. Why couldn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. have sent them to somewhere like Greece or New Zealand? Of course, it had to be the only country she had already been to outside of the United States. 

She remembered how excited her parents were when they had won an all-expenses-paid trip for the entire family to Norway. She didn’t know how it happened but there she was, fresh off her high school graduation and traipsing around Norway with her family, her father with his nose buried in his Rick Steeves guide, and her mother with her old 35-millimeter single-lens reflex camera glued to her face.

This time around, she had arrived with just Jane in the dark of night, no views of the beautiful landscape. Picked up in an all-black vehicle that was, no question, government-issued, they were herded off to an unassuming building that housed the Astrophysics Lab. Nobody had any idea why they had been sent there, but there was an open lab that had recently been cleared out and set up with brand new equipment, everything Jane would ever need for her research. She remembered Jane mumbling something about suspecting Tony Stark was responsible.

The second day, sure enough, they walked into the lab to find Tony with his feet up on the desk, making himself right at home. He had brought Jane plans for a complex containment system that had been sent from Asgard with orders to specifically build it in Norway.

“And have the Lady Jane Foster placed in charge of the project,” Tony stated in a horrible attempt at an Asgardian accent.

Jane gave the billionaire dagger eyes.

“What? Isn’t that how your spaceman talks? I mean, I’ve only heard recordings that Nick shared with me, but I think that was a pretty decent effort,” he responded as Darcy and Jane simultaneously rolled their eyes.

“Wait, Jane, this means Thor has found a way to contact Earth,” she said to her friend, grabbing her hands, hoping it would bring a smile to her face after a year of waiting for some kind of sign that he was returning.

“But why couldn’t he contact me directly,” Jane spoke with bitter disappointment, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides.

“Well, Carl Sagan, I thought you had all the answers to the universe,” he said as he sat back again in his chair, arms crossed behind his head. “So, who’s up for some pizza? Should we try some local Norwegian pizza or I can go grab a pie in New York. Oh, wait, I’ll just go to Italy. That’s a bit closer.” 

Darcy and Jane just stared at him.

“Okay, I’ll just--,” Tony began to say as he stood up, but Jane interrupted.

“Hold on. Before you go anywhere and before I begin to work on this project, I need to know, what are we trying to contain with this device, this room,” Jane said as she jammed her finger down onto the diagrams on the tablet. Leaning in to get a better look at the details, she continued, “I mean, this is a room based on the dimensions. This looks more like a prison cell. Mr. Stark, am I being tasked with creating a prison cell for someone? And why would Thor request that I work on something like, like...this isn’t in my purview.” Jane exhaled as she continued to swipe through the plans.

“And this takes away from time spent on your rainbow alien superhighway research,” Darcy leaned in and said quietly to Jane.

“Firstly, Tony. Secondly, look. All I got from Fury was that S.H.I.E.L.D. got information about something big heading our way. Some sort of cryptic message from your alien Romeo through a guy named Heimdall.”

“Heimdall,” Jane said in a dreamlike tone, continuing to swipe the tablet back and forth. She looked up at Tony with a start. “Wait! Firstly, he is not my Romeo. Secondly, looking through these plans, I think I know why Thor or Heimdall wanted me to work on this with you. My knowledge base gives me a better understanding than most of the schematics of this extraterrestrial technology. Combined with your superior mechanical engineering skills and resources, I think we can do this.”

“Did you just compliment me? Cause I could have sworn the vibe was going in a different direction just a minute ago,” Tony said with a smug look on his face.

“Thirdly,” Jane interjected. “If this message came from Heimdall, it is important and it means that he has found some way to communicate with us. This is huge. This could help with my research.” She darted over to her laptop and began tapping away furiously.

Tony turned to Darcy. “Alright, I’m gonna go grab that pizza and let you and Flight of the Navigator over there get to work.”

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

They spent the next two weeks building a Star Wars-looking jail cell for some unknown being. Jane would occasionally have questions that Tony relayed to Fury and within minutes there would be a response from someone on Asgard. Darcy could tell it was bothering Jane that someone on Earth had a direct connection to Asgard and wasn’t sharing it with her. She tried to encourage Jane to speak up about it but Jane just responded that she couldn’t let her personal feelings interfere with her work.

Darcy’s heart ached for her friend. Over the past year, helping Jane in her futile quest to find the love of her life, she had decided she would never let anything happen to find herself in that position, desperately in love with someone she couldn’t be with. Or just desperately in love with someone. Period.

She thought Jane was going to lose it yesterday. While Darcy was in the lounge staring at the vending machine as she had begun to do every day since they arrived at the lab, she kept hearing “New York City” and “Ironman” and “Captain America” through the conversations other staff members were having in Norwegian.

She quickly pressed “B” and “3”, watching the bag of Doritos drop. She slid her hand through the door to grab the chips and raced back to Jane’s lab. Grabbing her chair and wheeling it up to a computer, she furiously began to work on hacking through the system that prevented them from viewing any news sources on the Internet. When she finally was successful, what she saw left her stunned. She pulled the headphones out of the jack so that the sound of the news coverage could fill the lab, attracting Jane’s attention.

“Darcy, what are you doing?” Jane was on the verge of complaining that Darcy was messing with her concentration when she stopped cold before the screen, her hand slowly covering her mouth in shock.

They were watching Manhattan turn to rubble at the hands of giant floating armored creature thingies. There was footage of Ironman, Captain America, and a big giant hulking green guy battling the monsters. Darcy was soon covering her mouth with her hand.

But it was the footage of Thor that turned Jane’s shock to anger. There was Thor, in Manhattan, on Earth, helping the humans.

“How? When? I don’t understand,” Jane stammered. Walking away from the screen, looking at the ground and shaking her head. “I mean, I know he is saving people and this is just so selfish of me…” She trailed off.

“Jane,” Darcy followed after her friend as she circled the lab in thought. “This doesn’t mean anything bad, necessarily. He is still on Earth at this very moment.

“I know, Darcy. I feel so ashamed that I’m angry at this moment,” her friend raised her hand, palm up, and gestured at the news footage. “He is saving lives and he is in a very dangerous situation. We know he is a God, but do we really know if that means he is immortal?”

“I mean, kinda,” Darcy answered, shrugging her shoulders.

“Ugh. Turn that off, Darcy. I just can’t. And I need to focus on these finishing touches for the containment cell.”

Darcy watched as Jane turned back toward her computer and then slid the headphone jack back into the computer placing her headphones on her ears. Her eyes stayed glued to the footage until it was so late, she had fallen asleep with her head on the keyboard.

Jane shook her awake, commenting that falling asleep in the lab had become a bad habit for Darcy. She chuckled and encouraged Darcy to head back to the apartment. She would stay just a bit longer to make sure everything was ready for tomorrow. Fury had contacted her that he was on his way and needed the cell ready. Darcy wondered if the cell was for containing one of those chihuahuas or whatever they were calling the aliens from the alien invasion coverage.

She woke up in their shared apartment the next morning and peeked into Jane’s open door to find a perfectly made bed, never slept in. She quickly showered and dressed, grabbing coffee on the way to the lab where she found Jane whistling and kind of dancing to the tune.

“Um, Jane?”

“Oh, Darcy. Good morning,” Jane said in a sing-song voice after she spun towards her friend.

“Lady Darcy Lewis, it is good to be graced with your presence again,” Darcy heard a deep familiar voice say behind her.

Darcy sucked in a deep breath and twirled around to see Thor’s armor right in front of her face.

“Look at you, still all muscly and everything,” she said, as she poked at the breastplate of his armor. “How’s space?”

“Space is fine,” Thor responded with a curious smile, leaning in and giving Darcy a bear hug and lifting her off the ground. 

“I missed you, too, big guy,” Darcy mumbled, her face crushed up against his armor as she tried to pat him on the back.

Thor’s affectionate greeting toward her and that curious smile gave her pause like he knew something she didn’t. Like he had a secret that Darcy was somehow connected to. It was the same darn smile and look he had given her every time they saw each other back in New Mexico. But soon the smile changed as his eyes drifted from Darcy to Jane.

Darcy turned to Jane and mouthed, “See. I told you so.”

And just as Darcy went to spin around Thor, she bumped into her boss’s boss, Mr. Nick Fury himself.

“Pardon me, Ms. Lewis,” he spoke, showing no emotion. “Please take a seat. Thor and I would like to brief you both on your current responsibilities with regards to our prisoner.” Fury gestured toward the empty office chair at her work station.

“We have a prisoner?!”

“You won’t believe this,” Jane began to explain with an air of annoyance before Fury cut her off.

“We have in custody the leader of the alien invasion in New York,” he stated.

“Oo, really?” Darcy asked. “Is it one of those chihuahua dudes?”

“Chitauri and no, he is not one of them,” Thor answered this time. “He is Asgardian.” Darcy watched as he looked to Jane, her expression empathetic and sorrowful.

“Oh, wow. So, I’m assuming you know him,” Darcy directed at Thor.

“Very well. He is my brother.”

“Oh,” she blinked, scrambling for words and then remembered it was his brother that sent that Optimus Prime-looking monster called the Destroyer that blew up half of the town of Puente Antiguo. “Yup, very well, very well indeed.” Her eyes wandered the room, finding it too uncomfortable to look at the big burly sad face in front of her. 

“So, what happened?” She asked the two men standing before her.

For the next ten minutes, Darcy and Jane sat and listened to Director Fury and Thor as they recounted the events that led to the Battle of New York, as officials were calling it. They each peppered small clarifying questions here and there as the story continued to the events of the battle.

“I’m gonna kill him!” Darcy snapped as she shot up from her seat after contemplating the weight of what Thor’s brother, Loki, had done to all those people and her friend Erik. Poor sweet Erik. Erik had become like a surrogate father to her. After they met Thor, the two of them had been bonding over his research into the ancient mythology of his ancestors. She loved how geeked out the guy got over the possibility that his childhood bedtime stories were real. Thinking about how one of those ancient Gods pulled him into a nightmare, forcing him to do terrible things, burned her up.

She looked up at Thor and found an even deeper sadness in his expression than what was there before.

“Lady Darcy,” Thor addressed her in his usual formal demeanor as he gently set his hand on her shoulder. “We have information leading us to believe there may have been someone else behind the attack, someone controlling Loki or holding something over him.”

“He still did what he did, Thor! People got hurt. People got killed!” She looked over at Jane just standing there staring at Thor. Darcy could feel her anger bubbling up inside her, the heat going up to her neck and reaching the tips of her ears. She must have been red by this point because Fury stepped in.

“And for that, he will remain locked up,” he stated.

“Locked up here in the containment unit we built,” Darcy raised her hands to gesture air quotes around the words they had been using for the prison cell. And then something clicked in her brain. “Wait a minute. How did you know?” She directed at Fury and then at Thor.

“How did you know!?” She repeated moving closer to both of them. “Two weeks ago, you sent us here to build this thing. How did you know we would need this cell if Loki hadn’t even entered Earth’s atmosphere yet? Jane, back me up here.’ Darcy turned to her friend, trying to snap her out of the happy fog she’d been under since she walked through the door.

“I-I-I-,” her lovestruck friend stammered like a deer in headlights. “I hadn’t thought of that. Yet.”

“Ugh, Jane, snap out of it,” she shouted and turned back to the men, leaning into their space with a pointed finger. “Okay, boys, we are going to need answers. I’m gonna speak for Jane because she is love drunk at the moment thanks to He-Man over here finally coming back from Eternia.” She watched as a silly grin danced briefly across his face and then straightened back into his serious face. These two were so sickeningly sweet on each other, Darcy felt a cavity coming on.

“Someone needs to explain to us how you knew this specific type of cell needed to be built,” Darcy turned her attention to Thor. “Did you know your brother was going to do this?” He couldn’t even meet her eyes.

“Darcy Lewis, there is so much more to all of this,” he replied with a pleading look.

“You did know didn’t you!” She shouted angrily at him this time shoving her finger into his breastplate sending him back a step. “How did you know? Did he contact you? Did he tell you?” She kept poking his armor pushing him as he backpedaled. Thor just took it like a puppy who just peed on the new sofa. Darcy knew deep down that Thor would never intentionally do something that would threaten innocent people but she just couldn’t contain herself. This feeling had been building inside her since the first moment Thor ever looked at her. There was something in the way he looked at her like he knew something about her.

“Darcy, I-,” Thor started.

“Oh, so we are so familiar with each other that it is now suddenly just Darcy,” she snapped.

Again, he looked at her with those damn sad eyes. She wished he would stop it. It made it so difficult to be mad at him. Jane was totally in love with a golden retriever.

“Darcy, maybe we just need some quiet time to process all this information,” Jane said as she finally came to. Her friend placed a gentle hand on her arm. “I’m angry, too. Erik is my mentor and like a father to me. I feel like if it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have been mixed up in all this.”

“That is not necessarily the case,” Thor interjected.

“What do you mean?” Jane looked up at him with a look of confusion.

Thor took in a deep breath and then exhaled. “Erik Selvig has a connection to Loki.”

“We believe Loki had been communicating with Dr. Selvig for some time before he arrived on Earth via the Tesseract,” Director Fury broke into the discussion.

Darcy noticed Thor frowning and looking at the floor as Fury added this information. He knows so much more and this whole situation was infuriating.

“Well, whatever,” Darcy raised her voice again. “I’m going in there and giving him a piece of my mind.” As she went to squeeze between the two men, she felt Jane grab her arm, holding her back.

“Please, Darcy, we need to let cooler heads prevail,” Jane pleaded. “Let’s go take a walk to the lounge, get some junk food from the machines, and come back here to talk things over. You and me, together. Okay?” Darcy glared at the two men, drawing out the silence.

She was still livid. And she needed to come up with a way to get past Thor if she was ever to confront Loki.

“Okay,” she finally agreed. Jane linked her arm into Darcy’s and led her between the men as they parted to the side, allowing the women into the hall. As Jane pulled her towards the lounge, Darcy slipped out of her hold and darted in the opposite direction. In the direction of the Asgardian prison cell. As Jane called for her, she could hear Thor say something to her friend.

“Let her go, Jane. She needs this. He needs this.”

“Move, gun ninja,” she said to the all black-clad and masked S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent near the door to the cell observation room. Darcy was expecting a fight but he stepped aside as she heard Director Fury call down the hall to let her pass.

Darcy placed her hand on the identification lock, hoping they hadn’t already removed her privileges. She could feel her heart racing as if it was about to leap out of her chest. Her hands were so sweaty, she was rubbing her palms onto her pants as the door slid open.

Why was she so nervous? Was it because he’s a criminal? An evil mastermind? But he is locked up in a cell specifically designed to hold him and him alone. Her rage overrode any hesitation she may have had as she stormed in.

Her eyes focused on the target of her anger as she abruptly came to a stop at the edge of the cell, the invisible screen keeping him locked inside now buzzing in her ears.

The anger inside her bubbled over as she began to shout at the figure before her, sitting in a solitary metal chair in the center, leaning over, his elbows resting on his thighs, cuffed wrists hanging between his knees, wet grimy black hair masking his face.

“Who do you think you are? Come to our planet, kill and enslave a bunch of us and think you can just take over and we wouldn’t put up a fight?” She was almost screaming at him, the strain scratching at her throat. “You have another thing to learn about the history of this planet, dude.”

Sucking in a deep breath, she attempted to calm herself before she might try to leap at him through the laser screen thingy. She wished her taser would have worked through this barrier.

He did not move.

“And what you did to my friend, what you did to Erik…” She said in a sorrowful tone still thick with rancor. As she tried to get the words out to express her feelings, he raised his head to look straight at her and she stopped cold.

“Hello, Darcy.”


	2. We've Met Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shocking information is revealed to Darcy and she finds herself in an unexpected place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my super amazing beta @river--glass (on Tumblr), (you are amazing!)
> 
> The chapter title comes.from a line by Prince Philip to Briar Rose aka Princess Aurora in the Disney animated film "Sleeping Besuty". "You said it yourself. We've met before once upon a dream."

__

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

_Darcy stared in dismay at the soy caramel macchiato splashed across the dark polished floor of the coffee shop. She looked up intending to rage on the man who had bumped into her, but the words caught in her throat as her eyes met his._

_“I am terribly sorry about this. Please, allow me to buy you another one,” the man in the classy scarf and tailored suit apologized intently while she continued to stare, incapable of looking away._

_His eyes were the most amazing shade of blue-green, like the color of the ocean on a sunny day. There was something familiar in them._

_“Miss, would you permit me to replace your beverage that I so clumsily spilled,” he asked again, this time with a smile beginning to form across his face, his eyes sparkling like he had a secret he wished to tell her._

_“What? Oh, um, yes, that’d be cool. Thanks,” Darcy mumbled as his grin widened, dimples setting in his cheeks, gleaming white perfect teeth flashing between his lips. She couldn't help but return the smile._

_“I will return in a moment,” he told her, making a gesture with his hand as if pleading her to stay where she was. He returned to the line at the counter. She watched as he walked away, his jet-black hair slicked back just touching the collar of his jacket. His clothes were impeccable, leading Darcy to believe he must be some high powered business guy or something. She must have looked like a disheveled mess in her favorite cardigan she nicknamed Kurt Cobain. It had just a few holes in it. Ugh. There were probably coffee stains on it now._

_When she looked down, she was relieved to find none had gotten on her sweater. And curiously, there was no longer any coffee on the floor, not even her old cup._

_“Damn, they’re good,” she commented about the coffee shop staff. Someone mopped that up quick._

_She glanced at her watch and realized she needed to get back to the hotel to meet up with her family for their tour that day. Just as the thought crossed her mind, the dazzling well-dressed gentleman was beside her with another coffee._

_“Again, my deepest apologies for any inconvenience I may have caused,” he repeated the sentiment as he handed her the coffee, Darcy losing herself once again in his emerald and azure eyes and bright smile._

_“Th-thank you,” she stammered as she grasped the cup in her hand. Their fingers brushed as he continued to hold onto the cup for longer than Darcy would typically consider not weird, which is why it struck her in that moment that it wasn't weird. There was something in the way he looked at her, smiled at her, which made her feel comfortable._

_“Enjoy your holiday, miss.” In the blink of an eye he was gone, and Darcy was standing gawking out the door of the shop._

_As she walked back to the hotel, she noticed her name was written on the cup. Had she told him her name? Maybe he overheard her say it the first time. She took another sip of her soy caramel macchiato. Had she told him what kind of drink she ordered? Maybe the barista remembered._

_Darcy brushed the odd feeling about the fancy man to the back of her mind as she saw her parents waving her to hurry, the tour bus beginning to load passengers for their ride._

_As she sat down in her seat and watched Oslo pass by her window, another thought crossed her mind. Was it really that obvious that she was a tourist? Darcy shrugged and took another sip of her coffee._

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

Just like she did five years ago, she gaped for a few moments. But this time, she spoke first.

“You,” she directed at Loki with an accusatory tone.

“Me,” he returned with a painful expression.

“The coffee shop,” she said in the same tone, eyes locked with his.

“The coffee shop,” he confirmed, the corner of his lips curling into a hint of a rueful smile.

“Why?”

He didn’t answer her, but held her gaze with pleading eyes. The more she looked into those eyes, it began to dawn on her how familiar they actually were. During her time over the last year helping Erik with his Norse mythology research, she remembered reading from multiple sources that the Vikings believed Loki could shapeshift, adding to his mischievous and deceiving personality.

“You can shapeshift, can’t you. You can alter your appearance.”

Without a word, he began to change, his hair no longer perfectly set, his skin no longer like unblemished porcelain. Instead, she saw frazzled hair and cuts and scrapes all over his face and hands. Deep bluish purple circles underlined his eyes and his skin had a sickly grey pallor. All of it was evidence of the fight he had been through the previous day.

“I must look abhorrent to you,” he said as he lowered his eyes from Darcy to the floor. Why did he care what she thought of him?

She eyed him warily. “You look like a guy who got his ass beat.”

He let out a small laugh, his shoulders shaking slightly, and looked back up at her from the corner of his eyes. She couldn’t shake how it felt when he looked at her that way, as if he knew her. Usually the first time she met someone they responded as if she was a bit off-putting, a bit shocked. But Loki didn’t act surprised. He actually laughed like it was something he held affection for, as if he liked her crassness.

“You also look like you haven’t slept in a century,” she added.

“I feel that way. It was difficult to sleep with him in my head all the time.”

“Him?" She looked a Loki critically, considering what Thor had said about him being controlled. "You mean the mind-control dude?”

Another smile came to Loki’s lips as he nodded.

Ugh. No. She came in here with a purpose. She needed to not look at his smile...or his eyes.

She thought back to her European Politics course a few years back. He didn’t look like Loki, but he had pitch-black hair and those same ocean blue eyes.

“You were that Luke guy that sat next to me in class.”

“Yes.”

Suddenly, memories came flowing back into her mind of all the times she crossed paths with a black-haired, sparkling blue-green eyed person like confetti sprinkled throughout her life. But meeting him now made her realize those meetings with a raven-haired stranger with aquamarine eyes wasn’t confetti at all, not random scraps tossed through her past. They were puzzle pieces laid out by a careful hand, and this Loki was the final piece.

“The girl with all the piercings and tattoos that worked at the record shop by my house when I was in high school.”

“Yes.”

“The paramedic that pulled my dad from the car after the accident when I was twelve.”

“Yes.”

“The kid who traded Pokemon cards with me at the library in third grade.”

“Yes. But I still do not understand why those little cards--”

“The little girl who put worms in Brittany Palmer’s sandwich in kindergarten because she made fun of my glasses.”

“Yes.” He smiled at her again, as if he was proud.

“Why? What do I matter to you?” She was yelling at him again, a tremor in her voice. The thought of this person in front of her watching her all her life sent shivers down her spine.

“It’s creepy, dude," she told him, trying to sound stronger and more certain than she really was.

He looked at her with an aching expression, as if he were about to tell her why, but instead, he remained silent.

"Whatever," she paused as panic began to set in. "You irreparably hurt my friend. You are responsible for the deaths of hundreds. It's because of you that Manhattan was destroyed. You tried to kill your brother and me last year in New Mexico. Why spend my entire life looking after me to just snuff me out in a senseless millisecond with that monster thing?" She paused her tirade for a moment to see if he would respond but he didn't.

"There is a greater monster out there, greater than me," he said quietly with a sad expression. "He is planning far worse for the galaxy. I thought if I could gain control of Midgard, I could protect you. So, I agreed to be part of his scheme but he took control of my mind." He paused as if gauging her reaction.

"I never wanted to hurt Erik. He and I are connected," he said. "It will all make sense one day."

She shook her head, dropping her face into her palms and feeling the warmth of angry tears gathering behind her eyes.

"Why am I even in here?" She mumbled into her hands as the tears began to pour between her fingers, confusion swirling through her mind. "What does this have anything to do with me? You don't matter to me."

"Darcy-" he said in a pained voice.

"Don't!" She looked right at him with resolve in her eyes. "You have no right to be so familiar with me."

He had no right to look so hurt, so wounded. She shook her head, eyes closed tight, trying to rid her mind of those eyes, and that hurt. As long as she was in this room near him, she would never be able to clearly sort out her thoughts. She needed out. She needed to talk to Jane. She needed an explanation from Thor. He had to know more.

Spinning on her heels, she marched to the door. She slammed her hand to the identification pad by the side of the door, for a split second worried she may have cracked the glass leaving her stuck inside the observation room, stuck with him. The door slid open and she began stomping down the hall towards the lab, putting as much distance as possible between her and the infuriating alien.

As she approached Jane’s lab, she could swear she heard what sounded like a bee buzzing her ear. She swatted her hands near her ears but could not see or feel the bee. Still, the closer she got to the door of the lab, the buzzing began to sound more like a swarm than a single bee.

“Are there bees in here or something?” Darcy asked as she entered the room, still waving her hands around her head. The sound was almost deafening now, pulsing in her ears. “Ugh, do you all hear that?”

She pressed her palms to her ears trying to block some of the noise with no success. Looking around the room, she saw everyone looking at her with curious expressions. Fury and Jane were at the table in the middle of the lab, hands gloved, carefully handling a glowing box she assumed was the Tesseract. They were both paused, staring at her.

“I don’t hear anything, Darce,” Jane said, her brow furrowed with concern. “You okay, ya know, after…”, her friend nodded in the direction of the containment cell.

“I’m not sure,” she needed some answer from Thor but the ache in her head was overwhelming. She rubbed her palms to her ears in a futile effort to find relief from the buzzing. “Seriously, none of you hear this?”

“Could Loki be doing something to her?” Director Fury asked, looking between Jane and Thor.

“No, this could not be caused by Loki. His cell is built to contain his magic. He cannot manipulate anything beyond the cell,” Thor answered and Jane nodded in agreement.

“Tell me, Darcy, what are you hearing?” Thor turned and asked, concern on his face.

“I told you, bees, like a huge swarm of bees,” Darcy growled at him. She could see a tinge of hurt flit across his face.

“Can you tell where the sound is coming from?” Jane added to the questioning, her eyes back on the Tesseract, marveling at it.

Darcy focused on the sound and followed it toward the Tesseract. Sure enough, the sound became louder. It wasn’t that it was coming from the glowing cube but more like the closer she got, the louder it emanated inside her head.

“Is it coming from this?” Jane was looking at her now with a horrified expression, holding up the Tesseract toward Darcy, her hands still in thick fancy science gloves.

“Not--not exactly,” Darcy painfully croaked out as she felt the object pulling at her as if a piece of elastic tied her to it and it was trying to contract. She wondered if she touched it, maybe the buzzing would stop.

“Maybe--if I--just--,” she kept one hand pressed to her temple in a useless attempt to relieve the pain as she stretched out her bare hand toward the Tesseract.

“Darcy, no!” She heard Jane shout, her friend beginning to pull the object back.

It was too little too late as Darcy’s hand made contact with the box. She could have sworn she heard Thor tell Jane to let her be.

Burning heat shot up her arm from where she had touched the Tesseract, like flames licking up a burning tree. Her vision was blinded by a white light. The buzzing was excruciating in her brain like a knife in her temple. Nausea began to well up inside her and she keeled over, falling to the floor.

As she vomited what little breakfast she had eaten, she began to realize what she felt under her palms was not the smooth lab floor, but rock and dirt. This added to her disorientation and she continued to heave, but with her morning croissant long gone they were now mostly dry with spit stretching down out of her mouth.

Down onto earth, rock, moss. Where was she? Did she blackout? It seems like only seconds have passed.

The buzzing sound was completely gone. All she could hear were birds and a breeze rustling through trees.

The headache and nausea were gone as she stood up to get a sense of her surroundings. She was in a forest. Before her in the distance through the trees was the most breathtaking fjord, with high mountains surrounding the water and a small sandy beach just at the edge.

And she was alone, not a bit of evidence of human life to be seen.

"Well, shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> You kudos, subscriptions and bookmarks bring a smile to my face. You comments keep me motivated and writing.
> 
> Come find me on tumblr @sapphire-reverie


	3. Impossible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy finds out she's not in Kansas anymore and her tin man is Thor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my spectacular beta @River_glass (on AO3) & @river--glass (on Tumblr)
> 
> Thank you to Traxus_IV who mentioned in a comment wishing that Loki had given an explanation for his behavior to Darcy. I thought I had included that, checked my notes that I was planning to include it, and then realized it wasn't there. I had written and edited Chapter 2 on my phone with really poor cell service in a remote cabin in the woods. Anyhow, I went back and added that in, so if you read Chapter 2 within the first 12 hours it was posted in the AM hours of Monday, July 27, here is what you missed:
> 
> "There is a greater monster out there, greater than me," he said quietly with a sad expression. "He is planning far worse for the galaxy. I thought if I could gain control of Midgard, I could protect you. So, I agreed to be part of his scheme but he took control of my mind." He paused as if gauging her reaction.
> 
> "I never wanted to hurt Erik. He and I are connected," he said. "It will all make sense one day."

__

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

"It's gonna be okay," Darcy repeated frantically, trying to keep herself calm as she paced in circles on the beach with her iPhone in the air above her head. With her index finger, she pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. Thank god those didn’t break in the pocket of her cardigan during whatever that whole thing just was.

She felt oddly more calm than maybe she should have been. This is not the weirdest thing that had happened to her. Having a mythological god drop out of the sky right before one's eyes kind of alters one's world view on what is and isn't freak out worthy. After all, she knew that she was dealing with cosmic forces and powers. Aliens knew how to travel to other planets. She should consider herself lucky that being zapped a few miles out of town is all that happened to her. Being around space magic has consequences and being transported out of cell service range was hers.

She froze in her tracks upon hearing noises off in the distance. Shouting. People. She returned her phone to the back pocket of her jeans and focused on the sounds, trying to make out which direction they were coming from.

Soon enough she spotted figures in the distance through the trees, the sound of metal and wood clanging together joining the shouts. Becoming more visible, Darcy thought they looked like they were dressed for Medieval Times.

"Cosplayers," she said as she let out a relieved breath and rolled her eyes, beginning to make her way over to them. She just had to hope at least one of these guys was willing to break character to help her get back to Tromsø and civilization. Jane and Thor must be freaking out by now. If she could just get somewhere with cell service.

As she got closer, she pulled her knit hat down snug on her head and wrapped Kurt, her well-worn cardigan, around her tightly to ward off the spring chill. Darcy thought about how the two figures she could see must have been some serious cosplayers based on the intensity of their combat moves and the level of detail in their costumes. Both men looked like bad-ass Vikings, long hair braided back, the sides of their heads shaved and tatted up. In the forest beyond these men, Darcy could hear the shouts of more people in what sounded not quite exactly like the Norwegian she had heard back in Tromsø. She thought it must be some rural accent or something.

The two men were now about fifty yards away when she saw one of them lose his sword, the weapon falling out of his reach. As they continued to dance around one another, swordless dude pulled an ax from the back of his belt and thrust it right into the chest of the other man.

Darcy froze as she watched blood spatter out from the ax wound like a sprinkler. That did not look fake. The ax wound guy collapsed to the ground as the ax-wielding dude pulled a knife from his boot and slit the other man’s throat. She realized now there was real horror laced through the shouts and scream coming from the trees.

She backpedaled, turned, and sprinted toward the trees on the other end of the beach, hoping the ax man had not seen her. It was the fastest she had run since New Mexico and once again, she wished she had on a sports bra. As she wove between trees and rocks through the forest, her mind raced through what to do. Maybe if she called out to Thor or that Heimdall guy, they might be able to hear her even without a phone. They were considered gods once and they had to hear prayers on Earth somehow.

As she got further from the beach into the thick cover of the forest, she slowed down to glance behind. It did not seem anyone was following her, but she could still hear shouting through the trees. 

Suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her and a hand covered her mouth.

She screamed louder than she ever had only for her efforts to be muffled by the extremely large hand engulfing the bottom half of her face. She felt hot breath in her ear as her captor shushed, attempting to keep her quiet. He smelled of metal and blood and sweat.

He whispered to her in an unfamiliar language as she thrashed and kicked trying to wiggle herself free, but it was no use. She could tell by his tone that he was trying to soothe her, calm her. The logical side of her brain kicked in thinking that if she stopped struggling, he might release her. Sure enough, as soon as she quieted and stilled, he released her except for a grip he kept on her wrist. She looked down at his hand on her and noticed the intricacy of the design on his metal wrist thingy.

Looking up, Darcy found the eyes of an immense man with a head of long strawberry-blond hair as if he was straight out of Metallica. He had blue eyes and an even more red beard with a braid on each side neatly ended with silver beads. He wore some type of leather armor vest adorned with pieces of metal that looked more authentic than anything she’d ever seen at the Ren Fair. He was speaking to her in a language she did not understand as she gawked at the man, in shock and confusion over what he could be doing out here looking like this.

“Um, mister, do you possibly speak English because I don’t understand a single word you just said,” she interrupted him. He stared at her with a look of surprise and tilted his head as if she was a curiosity, a puzzle to be figured out.

He looked her up and down and began picking and pulling at her clothes. He removed her hat, turning it over in his hand and then tossing it on the ground. Next, he tried grasping for her glasses.

“Hey, man, hands-off. Personal space. And I need these things to see,” Darcy lightly swatted his hands away with her free hand and put it up to protect her glasses on her face.

His face washed over with anger at that. He yanked her in close, gritting his teeth.. He began speaking to her again, increasing Darcy’s frustration at the fact that after six years of French classes, she still could only speak one language fluently but she had to try.

“Parlez-vous Anglais? Français?” She pleaded with the man who was leaning in closer to her, now sniffing her hair, anger dissipating. He gave no indication that he understood what she said.

“I need to get to Tromsø,” she said in what she thought was a futile attempt. He stopped smelling her hair and pulled back to look at her.

“Tromsa?” He seemed to ask her. Maybe this was the name of the city in his dialect.

“Um, is that the city of Tromsø?”

He was talking to her again as if she could understand him. As she struggled against his force, he pulled her over to a pile that included a sword and a round wooden shield painted gold and black with a sunburst of crude ironwork in the center. As she looked closer at the pile, she realized it included a bloodied man clutching a similar red shield with more simple ironwork who looked very very really really actually dead.

The panic flared back up on high heat inside her. Had she come across some murderous arctic circle cult trying to reconnect with their ancestors? This was it. She was going to die here. This was all so insane, she could barely wrap her brain around it, and she was friends with aliens for goodness sake.

He yanked a bloodied leather strap off the dead body, swinging her around, and tying her wrists up with the strap. Darcy fought to get free with all her strength, but it wasn’t enough.

“Please let me go. I’m an American. You know, from the United States. Les États-Unis,” she pleaded, trying her high school French again in a desperate attempt to stop the man.

He shoved her up against a large rock and bent her over, pushing her face down onto the stone, her glasses crunching on impact. She felt his hand run up her thigh between her legs.

“Oh, hell. Fuck no!” She yelled, trying to squirm out of his grip unsuccessfully. 

“Thor! Heimdall!” she screamed louder than she ever had in her life in a last-ditch effort. She felt the man immediately release her. 

She heard him mutter something laced with fear that included the same names she had just shouted. Before she could turn to face him, there was a whoosh from above followed by a crunch and a thud. She turned to find her attacker out cold on the ground, a massive welt rising on his forehead.

“You are safe now, my lady,” a familiar voice spoke. She looked up into blue eyes she had just seen earlier that morning, only it had seemed ages ago. As he cut the strap binding her wrists, she noticed his armor looked different, again. This set was mostly leather, dark brown and worn, very different from his shiny space armor. A fur cloak of some kind rested on his shoulders instead of his signature red cape. How many different styles can this dude conjure up?

“What curious garb you are wearing,” he said as he looked her up and down. Darcy paused for a moment at the oddity of this and then waved it off in her rush to get away from the unconscious man on the ground.

“Oh, thank god. Thor,” Darcy exclaimed with relief. Stepping toward him to lean onto his armor for a Thor bear hug. He stepped back instead, bracing his massive hands on her shoulders to hold her up. She looked up at him in confusion. He was looking back at her with a similar expression.

“I am not Thor, the god,” he said, displaying the worst poker face ever.

“Um, yes you are,” Darcy spoke with a chuckle as she looked around thinking this was a joke and one of his super teammates would walk out from the trees at any moment, Fury not far behind ready to take the nut-ball Viking wannabe to jail.

“No. I am--just Thor, a common farmer,” he lied horribly.

“You are Thor of Asgard, God of Thunder, and that little ax in your belt, there,” Darcy gestured with her chin, “that is Mew-Mew, I’m pretty sure.”

“Mew-Mew?” Thor’s face scrunched as he set his hand on the ax. “You mean Mjölnir, which this is not. It is just an ax. An ax of a farmer. And why do you speak the most peculiar version of the tongue of England? How did you come to be here in the north?”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Thor? I’m not up for playing games right now,” Darcy said in exasperation. “And if back-up isn’t coming, shouldn’t we be high-tailing it out of here before Mr. Rapey-Rapey wakey-wakies?”

“You are using very curious combinations of words. I am usually able to understand any Midgardian language but--”

“Ah! See, you are _thee_ Thor. Wait. You can understand any language on Earth?” Darcy asked with a quizzical expression. “How is that possible? Why didn’t I know this?”

Thor looked as if he was going to answer her and then froze, furrowing his brow and seeming to look Darcy over critically, trying to piece her oddness together.

“I am sorry to say that you are incorrect. I am just a farmer. But, my lady, you are correct that we must get you to safety. There is a group in a cabin not far from here. They can provide shelter and protection.”

“Come on, Thor,” Darcy breathed out in exasperation. “Wait, isn’t there a plane or a helicopter somewhere nearby that can just take us back to Tromsø?”

“What is a helicopter and why would we go to Tromsø?”

“Dude, Thor, are you serious with all this right now?” Darcy’s anger was beginning to boil over as she followed Thor deeper into the woods.

“Why yes, indeed, I am serious about our current situation,” he answered as he walked along. Darcy had to jog to keep up with his strides.

“Is Jane at the cabin? What about Fury? Any of the others from Team Super Duper?” She asked him, spitting each question out like a dagger.

“Who is Jane? Why would the Furies be back on Midgard after all these centuries? And I do not even know what Team Super Duper means,” Thor rattled off, turning to look at Darcy’s gawking expression. “And why do you act as if you know me? As if we have met before? Where are you from? Have we met before? You are a very baffling Midgardian--er, person.”

“First off, did you hit your head and forget everything from the last year? Second, the Greek gods are real, too? And thirdly, you know I’m talking about the Avengers Project,” Darcy grabbed his arm to try and get him to slow down so she could catch her breath and better understand the confusion of this situation. But he just kept up his pace.

“While I have certainly hit my head on numerous occasions and partaken in one too many casks of mead over the past few seasons, I know I have not forgotten everything. How did you recognize me? I mean--why do you think you know me? Who are you?”

“Ugh. I am Darcy Lewis, best friend to the love of your life, Jane Foster,” she said as Thor’s brow furrowed again deep in thought. “Brunette. Super smart science chick. Pretty brown eyes.”

“I would remember if I had met an Asgardian such as this Jane you describe.” Thor slammed his palm to his forehead as he realized his mistake. He let out a deep sigh and slumped his shoulders in defeat.

“Ah hah!” She pointed at him. “And Jane is not Asgardian.”

Thor hesitated, turning to look at her from the corner of his eyes. “Vanir?” he whispered.

“No, she’s from Earth, from Midgard,” Darcy rolled her eyes. She felt like they were starting all over again as if they were back in the New Mexico desert one year ago. In reality, it felt as if there were even further back than that.

“Midgard. Curious. My father would not approve,” he said so quietly, almost as if he were talking to himself. “Are you sure she is the love of my life?”

She smiled at him, knowing she was winning their battle of wills. “Yes, Thor, and she feels the same way about you. I am not finding any of this funny. Why are you playing games with me?” Her eyes met Thor’s eyes and she could tell he was being completely sincere. She began to look more closely at him. His garb had more of an old-timey look similar to the Viking psycho cult from earlier. His hair was much much longer than it was earlier in the day. It had intricate braids woven along the side of his head. He looked like he was straight out of medieval Norway, not straight off the planet Asgard.

A thought occurred to her. She felt it had to be impossible, but the clues were lining up. So she adjusted her questioning strategy.

“You asked where I am from. I am from the United States of America. Have you heard of it?”

“No, I am sorry, Darcy Lewis,” he looked back down at her with a pained expression. “I have not heard of that place.”

“It is west of here. Very far west of here. Farther than England and Iceland and Greenland,” she explained through heavy breathing as she ran beside him.

He stopped in his tracks, keeping his eyes straight ahead. “I do not know of some of those places you speak of, but I know of England, and what you say is not possible,” he paused and then continued again in a whisper, “for a Midgardian”

“Thor, what do you mean?” She had stopped and bent over to catch her breath, her hands bracing her knees. 

“I mean that people from this part of the world have yet to discover how to navigate that far across open seas.”

“Um, yes they have. And if they haven’t, how would Thor the farmer know there was a ‘yet”, that people might do it in the future? That there is even anything to reach on the other side.”

He turned to look at her, taking in her clothes. He reached out and plucked her cracked glasses off her face.

“What are these?” He asked as he examined them.

“They are my glasses. Everything is blurry without them.” She watched as he lifted the lenses to his eyes and squinted through them. He quickly squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head.

“How did you get here, Darcy Lewis?” He asked as he set her glasses back on her face.

“I touched the Tesseract in Jane’s lab and all of a sudden I was near that beach back there.”

“Did you say the Tesseract?” Thor looked at her with alarm.

“Yes, you know, that glowy cube thing everyone was fighting over,” she winced as Thor grabbed her arms and leaned in until their noses almost touched.

“That is impossible,” he whispered. The final pieces were falling into place for Darcy.

“Thor, is it impossible because the Tesseract is not on Earth at the moment?”

“You do know me, don’t you?” he finally conceded. He studied her face for a moment and then continued. “It is impossible because it has been hidden and under Asgardian protection for centuries. No one has seen or touched it since before I was born. It is said that Midgardians cannot touch the Tesseract.”

“Um, I touched it. It was making this buzzing sound in my ears and sorta calling to me and I touched it,” Darcy scrunched her nose. “And then I was here.” Both of them were silent for a long moment.

“I think I’m from the future, Thor.”

“Impossible,” he said in a tone laced with doubt like he knew it was not impossible.

She pulled her phone from her back pocket, thanking the gods that grope-y Viking dude hadn’t found it. Thor’s eyes bugged out of his head staring at the device and they only got bigger as she swiped through the phone to her photos and pulled up a picture of him with his big goofy grin sitting in a diner in Puente Antiguo, New Mexico. She held up the screen to Thor.

“Impossible. Midgardians do not possess technology such as this. Impossible,” he grabbed the phone from her and began swiping through the images. His breath caught as he stopped on an image. He turned to show Darcy the image. “Is this Jane?”

“Yes.” She watched as he seemed to study the photo and caress the screen.

Then he crushed her phone into dust in the palm of his hand. 

“Hey, dude! That’s my phone!” She began to panic. She needed her phone. How would she get home now? And then it dawned on her that her phone was completely useless in medieval Norway. That Thor was protecting the future by destroying the device.

“Your glasses, I must destroy those as well,” he stuck out his hand, waiting for her to hand them over.

“No way, dude. I need them to see,” she put her hands on her glasses protectively and stepped away from him.

‘We also need to do something about your speech. I am assuming you do not speak the Northmen’s language,” Thor began pacing and after what seemed like an eternity, he stopped and turned to her. “I have an idea. I know who can help you.”

Thor then proceeded to remove the long brown cloak under his fur thing and wrapped it around Darcy, closing it together in the front.

“This should help hide your strange garb. You can wear your glasses until we arrive outside the cabin and then you must hide them. As for your words, do not speak where anyone can hear you except for me.”

Darcy nodded in understanding and agreement. “You still need to explain to me how you are able to understand and speak every language on Earth.” He gave her a brief smile, a flash of the familiar Thor of the future shining through.

“I will do everything in my power to return you to your time, Darcy Lewis, best friend to the love of my life. We must return you to your time and to this Jane.”

“Thanks, buddy,” she patted him on the shoulder and he rewarded her with that wonderful puppy-dog grin of his.

Suddenly, she felt the panic and fear from earlier wash over her again.

"Thor, I'm kinda freaking out a bit. What if you can't get me home, to my time?" Her chest felt hot, like a fire had just sparked inside, the flames working their way up her neck and cheeks and ears. "I think I might puke."

She felt an arm wrap around her shoulder and looked up to see the big guy with a face full of empathy and concern.

"We must go now, Darcy Lewis."

She sucked in a long deep breath and slowly exhaled. Then she nodded to let him know she was ready to keep moving.

And then she was in the air and slung over his shoulder as he ran faster and deeper into the woods.

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

The route to the cabin took them through a dense forest and up the side of a mountain. After a while, Thor slowed and came to a stop. He set Darcy down and held her steady as she gained her footing. She shook her arms to regain the feeling in them. He motioned to her glasses and she removed and slid them into the pocket of her cardigan. He pulled the cloak tight around her, hiding her clothes. She clutched the edges of the fabric in front of her.

“Remember, do not speak a word,” he whispered to her. Darcy nodded in understanding.

Thor turned toward the small rustic cabin up the path before them. It reminded Darcy of the cabin her family would visit in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Thick smoke curled out from the center of the chartreuse sod roof. She could hear the goats bleating in the pen on the side of the cabin. Chickens sauntered around outside the building.

As they got closer, the door opened and a short-haired, wiry man leaned against the frame. He had black makeup of some sort around his eyes and streaked down his cheeks. In his hand was a small knife he flipped between his hands. Darcy continued to study him as he addressed Thor in what she now assumed was the Old Norse language. As he listened to Thor, he looked Darcy up and down with a goofy yet suspicious grin. There was something familiar about the man, especially in his eyes when he looked at her. It almost felt as if she had met him before, but that was impossible.

As the men’s exchange ended, the wiry man stepped aside to allow them through the door. Thor turned to look at Darcy.

“The one who can help you is inside this cabin,” he whispered to her, leaning down to wrap his arm around her shoulders and leading her in.

The interior was dark and it took time for Darcy’s eyes to adjust. There was an open fire pit in the center of the room with all the men sitting around eating meat off bones and drinking from horns. The cabin smelled of sweaty men, beer, and smoke. She and Thor wove between the men crowded in the space. She could tell he was making jests with them as they passed. He eventually brought her to the back corner where a figure sat hunched over as he sharpened a knife.

The man on the bench in the corner had long raven-black hair similarly braided along the side as Thor’s hair. He wore what seemed like black leather armor, sleeker than what Thor and the other men had on.

“My lady, this is the man who can help you,” Thor spoke as he gestured at the figure on the corner bench.

“Thor, what are you getting me into this time,” the figure said as he straightened up to look at them with a look of annoyance. His expression changed to one of curiosity, his sea-green eyes twinkling in the firelight, looking at Darcy directly.

“Oh, hell no,” Darcy exclaimed and then clamped her hand over her mouth, remembering she was not supposed to speak.

“You are familiar with my brother, I take it,” Thor smiled in amusement looking between the two of them.

“I do not know this woman,” Loki scoffed, looking back down at his knife, but quickly looking back up at her out of the corner of his eyes.

Thor leaned down close to his brother and Darcy could hear him say, “Apparently you will in the future.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! All your amazing comments have blown me away. I keep digging and researching and adding to the story to make it the best I possibly can for all of you. Thank you thank you thank you!
> 
> Your kudos, subscriptions and bookmarks bring a smile to my face. Your comments keep me motivated and writing.
> 
> Come find me on tumblr @sapphire-reverie


	4. Magic-y Presto Change-o Stuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy gets some help from the Magic Man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my super amazing beta @river--glass (on Tumblr), spectacular as always!
> 
> I have returned to work full time this month after being off for the summer so my updates may come along slowly, but I am actively working on this fic.
> 
> Theme song for this chapter: "Magic Man" by Heart.
> 
> Cold, late night so long ago  
> When I was not so strong you know  
> A pretty man came to me  
> I never seen eyes so blue  
> You know, I could not run away it seemed  
> We'd seen each other in a dream  
> Seemed like he knew me, he looked right through me, yeah
> 
> "Come on home, girl" he said with a smile  
> "You don't have to love me yet, let's get high awhile  
> But try to understand, try to understand  
> Try, try, try to understand, I'm a magic man"  
> ...  
> He's a magic man, oh, he's got the magic hands

__

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Darcy sat shivering in a corner of the cabin Thor had brought her to. It was further from the fire than the bench he and Loki sat on together, whispering to one another, but there was no way in hell that she was going to sit anywhere near that silver-tongued troublemaker. She’d stand in front of this whole room of medieval strangers with her hands over her ears while shouting “la la la la la” before she’d listen to one more word out of his mouth. If the stories Erik had told her were true, she needed to keep her wits about her around that alien.

Even with her resolve to protect herself from him, she couldn’t help but feel something else each time he glanced over at her while listening intently to his brother presumably explaining her situation. Well, she assumed he was looking at her as she squinted her eyes in an attempt to focus on the brothers. She wished she could put on her glasses. Loki was leaning forward, his forearms resting on his thighs as he looked between the floor and her as Thor spoke. His hair was much longer than when she saw him earlier that morning in his prison cell back in 2012. 

As she sat there shivering, she had to admit to herself that he was good-looking. She remembered reading about him in one of Erik’s Norse mythology books, that he was handsome and likable. 

Embarrassingly, she had a few daydreams about Thor setting her up with his brother and the four of them going on a double date. And then she would immediately shake the daydream out of her head when she remembered Loki was the one who sent Megatron to incinerate them on Earth. Little had she known back then that they had already met and she remembered the effect he’d had on her eighteen-year-old self. Why did he have to be so infuriatingly good looking?

“Hmph,” she let out in exasperation at her thoughts, her shoulder slumping lower as she pulled the cloak tighter around her body. It couldn’t have been much above freezing earlier as she and Thor made their way up the mountain. She was going to need more layers. She wished she still had her stocking cap but her Viking Welcome Party had rid her of that warmth. She stuck one of her hands out of the front of the cloak and watched as she opened and closed her fist, trying to get the blood flowing through her fingers.

She should probably be sitting closer to the fire, warming her fingers over it like the others in the cabin. Looking up she noticed many of Vikings in the room glancing over at her as they carried on with their loud banter and what she assumed was heavy drinking from horn cups. Which made her a little jealous. How cool would she look chillin’ at a party sipping out of one of those?

She shook her head at such a frivolous thought in light of her current situation, glancing back down at her cold fingers as she continued to move them for warmth.

Soon, she felt his eyes on her and she looked up to meet him straight on. Thor was no longer talking to him, having gotten up to refill his horn cup. Darcy wanted her own horn cup filled with some delicious wine, maybe. Did they have grapes in medieval Norway? Wait, was he smiling at her?

Loki was wearing half a smile as he watched her intently. Darcy held his gaze, wanting so badly to give him her “What are you looking at?” expression, but she was shivering so darn much, she just kept looking right back. He got up and walked over to her, never breaking their gaze. Eventually, she was craning her neck to look up at him, his jet-black hair hanging down along the side of his face.

“May I?” he gestured at the open space next to her on the bench.

Darcy held his gaze with narrowed eyes in a desperate attempt at stubborn refusal, but her fighting spirit was so worn down by the cold that her defiance quickly melted away. She shrugged as she scooted down the bench to make more room, looking off toward the fire where Thor was engaged in loudly reciting what could only be some boastful mythic tale, the men around him enraptured with his story.

She watched Loki take a seat beside her through the corner of her eye.

“I take it you do not have much affection for me in the future,” he mused quietly, their shoulders brushing as he leaned in closer to her ear.

“Hmph, that is an understatement,” she responded with a whisper, continuing to keep her eyes on Thor. Then she realized he wasn’t questioning her story, where she came from. She turned to look at him, leaning back to study his expression. “You believe what Thor told you. You believe me.”

She watched as his eyes moved from her to the men around Thor, shouting and laughing jovially at his story.

“Your glass eye windows, may I see them,” he looked back at her and put his hand out between them where the others could not see.

Darcy snorted in amusement. “You mean glasses. You’re not going to crush them into dust like Thor did to my phone?”

“Phone? Oh, the box Thor told me of that had little Midgardians trapped inside. No, I will not crush your glasses to dust. I am curious. He told me they possess a magic that allows you to see clearly.”

“First off, that box also contained pictures of Thor,” she told him, his smile growing wider at this information.

“Did it now? How wonderful. Thor trapped in a tiny box that fits in one’s hand.” She could practically see the gears turning in his head as mischievous ideas burgeoned with the information she had given him.

“The box was not a trap and the people were not actually inside it,” she said, rolling her eyes as she pulled her glasses from the pocket of her cardigan and slid it out from the cloak and into Loki’s hand.

Loki looked back over at Thor continuing his jovial story and then began to inspect her glasses. His expression was more “curious brilliant scientist” than “master of mischief”. He leaned behind her and she watched over her shoulder as he held the lenses near his eyes, squinting and un-squinting his eyes. Then she watched as he waved his hand over the glasses in his other palm and they disappeared.

“Hey, you said--” Loki raised his fingers to her lips, so gentle she barely felt his touch. At that moment, she could hear part of her deep in the back of her mind telling her to beware and pull away from him, but the sensation of his touch and the depths of his eyes were pulling her closer.

“I put them somewhere for safe-keeping.” With that, he moved his hand from her lips to softly grip and lift her chin and for a moment she thought he might lean in to kiss her, his eyes flickering across her face as if studying her. Even though she was still shivering, she could feel the heat in her cheeks and at the tips of her ears. That little voice in the back of her mind yelling at her to pull away from this monster.

“Close your eyes,” he directed.

“You are unbelievable,” she responded as the little voice in the back of her mind began to take control again. “Are you trying to put the moves on me?”

He huffed as his lips curled up on one side in a mischievous smile. “Just close your eyes. I am not, as you phrased it, putting the moves on you. I believe I understand your meaning and I am fairly sure you would know if I were.”

“Oh,” she said as she deflated and closed her eyes. She could sense him wave his hands in front of them as the fire-light flickered through her eyelids.

“Open them.”

As she opened her eyes, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She closed them again. “Are you serious? Did you just fix my eyes?” She could hear him chuckling softly.

She opened them again to the sharp world before her. She could see crisp edges on every object from Thor and the men on the other side of the room to Loki’s face right next to her. It was as if she were wearing contacts but without the constant sensation of something in her eyes.

“This is amazing. Thank you,” she told him as she held her hand in front of her. Moving it near and far repeatedly.

“You may want to put your hand down before someone believes you are casting spells.”

She sheepishly set her hand down on her lap but continued to stare at it. “That’s rich coming from you.” Now it was her turn to chuckle at him.

“You are freezing,” he said, wrapping his hand around hers. She could feel warmth emanate from his hand into her own.

“More magic?”

“Mmmhmm,” Loki nodded. He plucked the edge of the cloak and lifted it to see underneath. “So fascinating. But not very practical.”

“Well, see in the future we have things like HVAC systems and indoor plumbing so I can stay inside when it’s cold and I don’t need to dress like a bear all the time,” she explained as she lifted her hand to the fur cloak on his shoulders.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, but I can help you with your clothing and make you a little less conspicuous.”

“Are you gonna do more of that magic-y presto change-o stuff again?” She asked, wiggling her fingers in the air.

He just smiled back and set his hands on her shoulders. Once again, she could feel her brain battling out whether to trust him or flee from him or fight him. He gently ran his hands down her arms, along the sides of her legs and, leaning toward the ground, rested his hands on her feet.

Darcy could feel the fabric texture changing on her skin from smooth and soft to what felt like rough-spun wool. But she also felt her body retaining its heat. She immediately began to feel warmer, especially her feet. Those thin canvas Toms were like wearing paper. Now, she felt the warmth of soft fur inside the leather boot she kicked up from under her cloak to look at. The boots were a soft buttery leather and in the light of the fire, seemed to be a sandy shade of brown. They reached up just below her knees, leather straps wrapping around her calves. She turned her foot on her toe to peek at the straps tied in a neat bow at the top of the boot in the back.

“Whoa, these are the nicest boots I’ve ever had. They’d cost an arm and leg back in my time,” she paused thinking about her choice of words. “Or would that be ‘forward in my time’?” She could feel Loki’s shoulders shake, brushing up against her own as he chuckled at her question.

“Do people pay for things with their limbs in your time?”

“Huh? Oh, no, that is just an expression. It means something is really expensive,” she pulled her hands into the cloak and brushed them along the woolen sweater dress thing that was layered on top of another dress thing. Lots of layers. Makes sense for medieval Norway. She was interested to see what this sweater thing looked like. She had a fondness for sweaters. At that thought, Darcy froze.

“Kurt. Where is Kurt?” She turned and looked frantically at Loki.

“Who is Kurt? Did you travel through time with another Midgardian?” He looked back in concern.

“No. No. Kurt is my sweater. My favorite sweater. So favorite, he got his own name after one of my favorite musicians, who also liked sweaters. So, I really need my sweater back.”

“Your sweater along with your other clothing is in the same safe place as your glasses as you call them,” he told her in a calming manner. She felt a bit more at ease. How was the man able to make her feel as if she trusted him even though she was supposed to be so angry and pissed off with him?

“Thank you,” she said meekly. “I don’t know why you would be so willing to help me.”

“Oh, do you mean because of the daggers of abhorrence you have been throwing in my direction with your eyes?” He gave a soft chuckle again as if she amused him rather than offend him. “I am a man of learning and enlightenment and you--” he paused, slowly looking her up and down and back up to her eyes, “--have piqued my curiosity.”

Seriously, if he kept looking at her that way, she was going to need Thor to come to her rescue again. She began to imagine two Donald Ducks, one dressed as a devil and one dressed as an angel, dancing around in her head fighting with each other. Darcy realized when she imagined a personification of her conscience, it came to her in the form of an animated duck who didn’t wear pants. She watched way too many cartoons.

“But don’t thank me yet,” Loki said, bringing her back to the present, or her present past, or whenever it was. “You will have a difficult time surviving in this world without words.” He lifted and pointed his chin toward the burly, rough crowd around Thor speaking what she now assumed was Old Norse, a language she definitely could not speak nor understand.

“Oh, yeah, that,” Darcy frowned and looked down at the toes of her new boots sticking out of the bottom of the cloak.

“May I?”

Darcy looked up to see Loki holding his hands out toward her as if making an offering to her. She nodded in acceptance. He raised his hands to press his palms to her jaw, his fingers tickling her ears. As he brushed his thumbs over her lips, she watched his own lips move in a way that was barely perceptive to the eye. She definitely would not have noticed without her glasses, without his magic eye spell. And here he was casting another spell on her.

She closed her eyes, focusing on his gentle touch while trying to push her better Donald Duck angel to the back of her mind, the duck angel that was trying to remind her of the Loki she knew from her time.

Soon the roaring and shouting from across the room began to take a different form.

“And my dear brother tied himself to a goat just to make the poor bride happy!” Thor thundered as the Vikings roared around him with laughter.

First Darcy wondered what she had missed and why that was so funny. Second, she realized that she could now understand everyone in the room.

She opened her eyes as Loki pulled his hands back from her face.

“I don’t get it,” she said to Loki. He rolled his eyes and sent his own death stares toward his brother.

“What don’t ya get, girl? Tall, dark, and handsome over there tied his balls to a goat,” an old grizzly man shouted at her and she turned to face him. “Fancies himself the God of Mischief. Just because you’re named after him, doesn’t make you invincible.” The old man followed his shouts with hacking laughter that seemed to roll out from deep in his belly.

She turned back toward Loki with an inquisitive expression.

“It never happened,” he answered with a face full of anger. But as he looked away from her, she couldn’t help but notice a flush in his cheeks and his expression changed, possibly to one of embarrassment. This evening's conversation was in stark contrast to the one she had with him this morning. Every conscious brain cell was throwing up red flags but her curiosity was beginning to get the better of her. Devil Donald Duck was beginning to win out in her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> You kudos, subscriptions, and bookmarks bring a smile to my face. Your comments keep me motivated and writing.
> 
> Come find me on tumblr @sapphire-reverie
> 
> [THE MARRIAGE OF NJORD AND SKADI (The one where Loki ties his balls to a goat)](https://norse-mythology.org/tales/the-marriage-of-njord-and-skadi/)
> 
> [Donald Duck Cartoon - Donald's Decision (1941)](https://youtu.be/9gwaON1hJd4)


	5. Because I'm A Poli-Sci Major

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy puts her college skills to work and her summer camp horseback riding skills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my super amazing beta @river--glass (on Tumblr), fabulous as always!
> 
> I returned to work full-time last month after being off for the summer so my updates may come along slowly, but I am actively working on this fic. It is plotted out all the way to the end. I love this fic so much and have absolutely NO plans of abandoning it. So, that said, I hope you all will stick with me for the long haul. Thank you to every one of you who has given this in-progress fic a chance.

The cabin door flew open and a rush of cold air filled the room sending chills through Darcy once again. She could tell it was finally getting dark outside, which meant it had to be late and would explain her exhaustion.

A tall broad young man with reddish-blond hair came tumbling through the door, heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

“Torstein,” shouted the man they called Ragnar, who was clearly this group’s leader, as the door was shut to Darcy’s relief. 

“Ragnar,” the newly arrived Viking paused, still catching his breath. “Jarl Borg and his men. They seem to be nearing that small village we noticed on our way in.”

“Tromsa,” said their leader, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed dude with a long mohawk braided down his back. Tattoos just above his ears along the sides of his shaved head. He had the look of a lead singer of some local grunge rock garage band, like the type of guy Darcy would have fallen head over heels for in the 21st century but who would have crushed her heart. His crystalline blue eyes were mesmerizing.

“That is the only place we can hope of finding the supplies we need for our return to Kattegat,” said the dark brooding man sitting next to Ragnar. His face was similar to Ragnar’s, his eyes seemed to be hazel and he was unlike many of the other Vikings in their crew, he had no braids and his scalp was not shaved. Instead, he wore his dark chestnut-colored hair down his back, the strands around his face held back with a simple leather tie. Loki had told her he was Ragnar's brother. “We must reach the village and sack it before Jarl Borg does.”

Ragnar looked at his brother thoughtfully, squinting slightly as he pondered his words.

“Sack the village?” Darcy heard a woman’s voice question this suggestion. As she felt Loki’s hand firmly grasp her arm and pull her back, she realized that she had said the words. Rollo was glaring at her, anger burning behind his eyes, but Ragnar just looked at her with those ice-blue eyes, full of curiosity.

Darcy took a breath and straightened her spine, squaring her shoulders at the fearsome Viking leader. One glance at Rollo should have made her stop but she continued instead. “I’m assuming by sacking, you mean pillage, rape, and kill,” Darcy spoke forcefully, returning the brown-haired man’s glare. She felt Loki’s grip tighten on her arm and she yanked it hard out of his hand, stumbling closer to the Viking leader.

“Ah, Ragnar, this English woman has the same fire in her as your wife,” laughed the old man of the group who had teased Loki earlier. The other men around them joined in the laughter, Ragnar smiling and shaking his head as he looked down at the floor. She glanced at the old man ready to correct his assumption of her origins and then thought better. Where would she say she is from? West of Ireland? She was pretty sure the Vikings hadn’t even found Iceland yet. She turned her attention back to the arctic villagers.

“They must be just barely surviving up here in the arctic circle and would pose no threat to your people. Why would you kill them and steal from them when you could ally against this Borg guy? You could offer them protection in exchange for supplies and continued trade between your village and their village,” Darcy finished with her political strategy rant, realizing she had been yelling at the men. 

The man next to Ragnar continued to give her the evil eye. She was worried she may have offended the leader and glanced at Thor to try and gain some clue of how she had been perceived, a woman in the 8th century telling men what to do. As Thor just looked at her quizzically, she turned to look behind at Loki. Was he smiling at her? He looked a bit like a child watching fireworks for the first time, like a child who couldn’t wait to shoot off his own bottle rockets. His expression made her think she must have said something right. 

When she finally turned back to Ragnar, his eyes were intensely fixed on her and an amused smile played at his lips.

“Ya sure Lagertha doesn’t have a long lost sister?” The old grizzly Viking laughed again.

“Who is Lagertha?” Darcy asked.

“Ragnar’s wife and a renowned shieldmaiden,” Loki whispered from behind, his breath gently brushing her ear.

“Oh,” she responded quietly and then smiled realizing this old bear of a man was probably complimenting her.

“Mmmh,” Ragnar grunted and sat back. “The English woman is right. We would be foolish to squander an alliance with this northernmost village.” He leaned forward, staring into the fire, his elbow resting on his knee, chin in his hand. Everyone in the cabin watched him in silence with bated breath. After a time, he stood up from the bench and looked at his men.

“Rollo,” he looked at the brooding brother. “You and Torstein will gather your men and go with me to negotiate with the villagers and stave off Jarl Borg.”

“Floki,” he turned to the wiry man near the door that had greeted her and Thor on their arrival. “I need you to ready the ships. Loki and Thor will go with you along with their thrall. I have a feeling she will be of value. Protect her,” he said, turning to Thor and Loki.

With that, the men all rose from their benches and headed out the cabin door.

“What is a thrall?” Darcy asked as she walked out alongside Thor and Loki. Neither would make eye contact with her as they began to prepare their horses for the journey. Maybe they didn’t hear her. Maybe it was just another word for their horses or some stash of loot they had collected. She filed it away for later as she began to realize she would have to ride a horse...for a long time. 

The 21st-century suburban girl in her began to panic. The last time she had ridden a horse was during her last summer at sleepaway camp in Northern Wisconsin when she was sixteen. She would feign some injury or tell her counselors she had her period and she would get out of horseback riding for the rest of summer. She highly doubted those excuses would get her out of it now. Well, she survived being slung over Thor’s shoulder earlier, so maybe riding with him won’t be so bad.

“Brother, I must return to Asgard,” Thor whispered within Darcy’s earshot as he leaned in close to Loki. “If we are ever to discover where father has hidden the Tesseract during our time and send Lady Darcy back to her time, I must.” Loki nodded in understanding.

“I will protect her with my life. You can trust me,” the God of Mischief answered his brother with an uncharacteristically serious and honest expression, one hand bracing Thor’s upper arm in reassurance.

“Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait,” Darcy interjected waving her hands in denial. She turned to Thor. “You are not leaving me alone with him.”

“You are correct. I am not. Floki will be with you as well,” said Thor with a smile as if that made everything better.

Darcy looked over at the wiry man as he secured the saddle on his horse. Darcy could tell he was different from the other Vikings the moment she and Thor approached the cabin. He glared at her with suspicion unlike most of the others inside. He wasn’t huge and hulking like most of the men and Loki had mentioned he was their master shipbuilder. She thought maybe his leaner, muscular frame was more conducive to that work, climbing up and around the large ships with a lighter body. He was more like Loki in that way and he was so tall it made him seem wiry. However, his moments of jovial leaping and high-pitched laughter were juxtaposed with dark moments, when he seemed to bore holes of distrust into her with his eyes as if he knew she wasn’t who Thor and Loki said she was. His suspicious gaze was made even more intense by the black make-up of some kind that he wore around his eyes. None of the other Vikings wore anything like that on their faces. It all made Darcy feel as if he could see right into her mind and read her every thought. It was somewhat similar to Loki’s expression when he was studying her, trying to figure her out. Curiously, it also reminded her of Erik Selvig any time since she’d known him when he got a brilliant idea and set off to work on it, or more recently when he would be lost deep in his moments of confusion after Loki’s mind control. 

Which reminded her, she wasn’t so sure it was a good idea to be left alone with Loki.

“Thor, why can’t I go to Asgard with you? Wouldn’t it be safer? For me?” she whispered to him.

“No!” He turned fast and shout-whispered the word in her face. There was a look of worry or almost fear on his face. Then his expression softened at her surprise. “My apologies, Lady Darcy. It’s just, well--”

“--Asgard is not a safe place for anyone who is not Asgardian,” Loki finished his brother’s sentence.

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” she said, biting her lip as she watched Loki finish firming up his saddle. She wasn’t sure she could handle a long ride sharing the saddle with him. She didn’t need another thing breaking down the barrier she was so pathetically trying to hold up between them. She looked back toward Thor only to find empty air where he and his horse once stood. Well, no other option now, unless...Darcy looked over at Floki who now seemed to be speaking sweet nothings to his horse, letting out a high-pitched giggle in response to the horse’s whinny.

“My lady,” she heard Loki speak behind her. She turned to see him stooped beside her. She blinked stupidly at him for a moment before realizing he was trying to help her onto the horse.

“Oh, I don’t know. I-I-I--,” she stuttered nervously. “I can’t straddle the horse in this dress. How am I--” She watched as one of his eyebrows arched up as the corner of his mouth curved up into a mischievous look. Darcy looked down to find under her cloak she was now wearing soft brown leather pants and a long teal green top under boiled leather armor.

“I thought you might find this attire more suitable for the ride. The armor should also provide a layer of protection,” he said as he extended his hand closer to her, waiting patiently. She could swear she heard Floki give a high-pitched laugh at this, but maybe he was still talking with his horse. Though, for some reason, it wouldn’t surprise her if this puzzling man knew Loki’s true identity.

She had to trust this Loki. She had no other choice. She put her foot into his hand.

“Your other foot, my lady,” Loki said with a tinge of exasperation. This time she knew Floki’s high sharp giggle was directed at her. She quickly switched her feet and in a flash was on the horse. Just as quickly, Loki was straddled behind her and gathered her in closely.

The situation was odd, and the fact that Darcy felt uninvited butterflies flitting in her gut only increased the awkwardness. As self-consciousness overwhelmed her, she was grateful for Loki’s body warmth riding through the arctic twilight. He smelled strongly of the smoke from the fire in the cabin, wine, and a curious hint of mint. She began to worry about what she might smell like after her long arduous journey of the past day. Leaning down a bit to smell her hair, she could still smell the scent of coconut from her shampoo. With a sense of relief in that knowledge, Darcy leaned back against him.

They rode in companionable silence. She began to find herself dozing off. She had been awake for almost a full 24 hours if she was right that she had landed in medieval times during the same season she was in back in 2012. 

She was jolted awake when the horses began to trot once they got beyond the rocky terrain. She was jostled around uncomfortably. Loki, she could tell, was not having the same difficulty. She could feel his thighs behind hers moving and shifting to guide the horse along while Darcy had to grip the saddle to steady herself. It was obvious that her companion had extensive horse riding experience.

Hours later they reached a beach where several Viking longships were waiting at the edge of the water. Beyond the ships, the sky was alive with the brilliant colors of the northern lights mixed with the light of dawn. Darcy had only glimpsed the light between buildings and out of windows during her weeks in Troms ø . But this was different. As Loki helped her dismount, the view before her took her breath away. There was no big city or modern building to tarnish her view. It was one of the purest things she had ever witnessed. She walked slowly down the beach, her head craned up to the sky.

“Aurora borealis,” she whispered and fell onto her knees in the sand. Loki sat down beside her. They would wait on this beach until Ragnar returned with his crew and then they would set sail for their home, wherever that was. Darcy was dreading the boat ride.

“No, Aurora has nothing to do with these lights, I can assure you. Last I heard, she is quite content in her retirement on Mt. Olympus,” Loki responded.

“Wait. What?” At first, Darcy was confused by his comment. But then her memory kicked in. One doesn’t spend as much time as she does with Dr. Jane Foster, astrophysicist, without picking up a few bits of science history. “Oh, no, well, actually in a few hundred years, I think, a man named Galileo will name these lights after the Greek goddess of the dawn, Aurora. And I shouldn’t be surprised at this point that other gods exist besides the Norse ones.”

She noticed a raven cutting through the light of the sky, landing on top of the intricately carved prow of one of the longships. It seemed to be staring at them. She remembered reading something about ravens in Norse mythology back when she was assisting Erik in his research. Loki noticed the raven as well, narrowing his eyes.

“Herring, anyone?” Darcy turned to see Floki standing behind them pulling small silvery fish from the ceramic jar in his hand. With her stomach growling, she watched him bite into the fish and knew she did not have an easy journey ahead of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For my Vikings fans in the room, this is an AU and some timeline and logistical things are changed to make the MCU and Viking worlds align with the Outlander story. So, please forgive me if anything seems slightly unrealistic. I'm trying my best and researching my butt off to make this the best I can. Just have fun while you are reading. 😊
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Your kudos, subscriptions, and bookmarks bring a smile to my face. Your comments keep me motivated and writing.
> 
> Come find me on tumblr @sapphire-reverie


	6. Drink, Eat, Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy arrives at the village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my spectacular beta @river--glass (on Tumblr), always fantastic!

She was laying on her side in her bed in the tiny two-bedroom apartment she had been sharing with Jane in Tromsø, the bright early morning sun beaming through her eyelids. She must have forgotten to put on her sleep mask. She rolled over to her other side away from the window and bright sun. She felt a hand gently brush down the side of her cheek and then through her hair in a soothing manner, and almost purred at this caress. As she took in a breath, she could smell pickled herring? Fish guts? Horse dung?

No. It was just a dream. It was all just a dream. She flashed her eyes open hoping to see her little 21st-century Norwegian apartment. Instead, she was looking sideways at dirty grizzled and salt-stained men with blood dried into the crevices of their boiled leather armor crouched on the other side of the longship. These were not 21st-century men. They seemed more alien to her than Thor and Loki ever had. Well, that is until she met the medieval version of the Odinson brothers.

Her heart sank at the realization that she was still in her living nightmare. She felt the same gentle brush from her dream down the side of her cheek, fingers gently combing through her hair. Her head was resting on some man’s lap. With this knowledge, she bolted upright and pushed herself along the side of the boat away from the man. Her eyes wide with panic, she glared at him for violating her personal space. Meanwhile, he held up both his hands as if to calm her and ask forgiveness all in one gesture.

“Loki,” she huffed, half in relief and half in frustration with herself for being so vulnerable with him.

Flashes of memories of their voyage from the arctic circle came flooding back. There had been a storm with rough waters, thunder, and lightning. Floki had been up clinging on to the prow screaming in prayer to Thor as the rain and waves drenched them all. The massive storm only heightened her sea-sickness. She had been so sick, her entire body had been emptied of the little bit of food she had consumed. She had wretched over the side. She’d wretched into a bucket. Oh God, she had wretched on Loki. The heat of embarrassment flowed to her cheeks.

“So thirsty,” she croaked through her chapped lips. Her head pounded from dehydration as if she had cleaned out her parents’ liquor cabinet the night before. Loki quickly offered her a leather water skin, which she grabbed from his hands and took a huge swig.

“Oh, it burns!” She screamed, slamming the flask into his chest. The men around them were having a good laugh at her expense, their voices echoing off the canyon-like sides of the fjord.

“It is mead. We have no fresh water,” Loki explained to her quietly. Darcy yanked it back out of his hands and took a few more large gulps. Her face scrunched from the burn of the alcohol as she handed it back to him. Once the burn dissipated, she actually didn’t mind the taste of honey and spices left over on her tongue. It was just the type of beverage she would have ordered back in her time. Just not quite what she needed at the moment.

Looking around outside the longship, she could see they were no longer out on the open sea. They must be near Cat Gut or whatever was the name of the village.

She heard men shouting from the other ships. The men around her jumped up and began shouting as well, but they were not shouts of war and anger. The men were jovial, slapping one another on the shoulder. She went to stand and get a better view of the commotion, only to end up falling back down on her rump. Every muscle in her body was sore and aching. She felt Loki slide his arm under hers and help lift her up.

Out ahead of the ships she could see a beach filled with people waving and cheering. Behind them were small huts and primitive buildings not unlike the cabin in the arctic circle. A long pier jutted out across the water, although many of the ships didn’t use it. They seemed to anchor just far enough from the beach that the men and women could jump out into waist-deep water and leap toward people who seemed to be loved ones greeting them on the sand.

The boat Darcy was in pulled along the pier and the men began to disembark onto the wooden planks. She had ridden in Ragnar’s ship which explained why their ship docked in a place of prominence. Loki grabbed a few bags and helped her off the ship and onto the pier. Swinging the bags over his shoulder with one hand, he continued to hold her up with the other as they walked behind Ragnar toward the important-looking people waiting at the end of the pier. Their higher status was clear to her from their clothing and hair: brighter colors, more layers and adornment, and the women’s hair more elaborately braided.

She watched as Ragnar was tackled by two children that had run down the pier to him. They looked to be about junior high age, 12 or 13 years old.

“Bjorn!” He exclaimed as he tousled the boy’s hair. “Ah, my Gyda.” He lifted the girl up into a one armed hug and kissed the crown of her head. Darcy guessed these were his children. She watched as he stood in front of the intimidating woman that had been standing between the children. She must be Lagertha, the renowned shield maiden, as Loki had told her. The woman’s blonde hair was wrapped into intricate braid patterns and a lush fur sat upon her shoulders. Her chiseled expression led Darcy to believe she was a powerful woman, even over her husband who seemed to be the leader of this village.

Loki and Darcy stood behind Ragnar’s family as he embraced his wife. Lagertha’s eyes eventually landed on them.

“Loki, it is good to see you back. Where is Thor and who have you brought with you?” She asked.

“Ah, Thor is back in one of the other boats. Loki and Thor have taken a thrall. An English woman,” Ragnar answered before Loki had a chance. 

There was that word again. Darcy looked up at Loki with concern. Just as she was about to ask, Loki squeezed her arm and began to pull her away.

“We will have to introduce her to Athelstan. They would have much to speak of together as fellow countrymen,” Lagertha said to Loki.

“Yes, indeed,” Loki nodded with his response. “She has had a rough journey at sea so I will be taking her to my cabin for food and rest.”

“Of course. And we will see you tonight to celebrate the return of our people?” She asked, Ragnar giving Loki a silent crooked smile beside her.

“Yes. See you then.” Loki pulled Darcy away from the pier and toward the buildings.

“Loki, it is so good to see your return,” said the woman wrapped up in Floki’s arms. She had the same dark makeup around her eyes that Floki wore, the contrast with her fair blonde hair was stark. But there was something sweet and gentle in her face.

“It is good to see you as well, Helga,” Loki returned politely, trying to push closer to the medieval timber and clay structures of the village.

“Helga, this is Darcy,” Floki introduced her to the woman to her surprise. “Darcy, this is my sweet Helga.” It was plain to see that Floki was deeply in love with this woman.

“It is so nice to meet you. Floki was just telling me about your journey,” the soft-spoken woman said. Turning to the man who was holding her up, she spoke, “Loki, I can bring her some clothes and soap and other things she may need.”

“That would be kind of you, Helga. Thank you,” Loki nodded to her.

“Th-th-thank you,” was all Darcy was able to rasp through her chapped lips.

“Get some good food in you and some rest, dear,” Helga said as she set her hand gently on Darcy’s shoulder.

As they wove through the village, Darcy felt as if she was floating, not actually touching her feet to the ground. Still, her body ached with every step she took. Clinging to Loki for support, everything around them was a blur as she focused on her need to stop and rest. Soon, they were standing before an A-frame cabin on the outskirts of the town. Above the door is a worn wooden shield with lines that looked like horns on one side and wings on the other. This clearly was the Odinson’s home in this village.

Loki pressed his palm to the wood door and pushed it open into the cabin. The door shutting behind them, he walked her to the fur-covered chair by the long fireplace at the center of the room. With a wave of his hand, flames licked up between the logs. Darcy felt the warmth through her whole body instantly. She wasn’t sure if it was the fire or Loki’s magic.

“What is a thrall?” She asked with the firmest voice she could muster. She heard Loki release a long breath. He stopped with whatever he had been fussing with at the table and hung his head. “Loki, what is a thrall?”

“You do not have thralls where you come from, I take it,” he said quietly, not looking at her.

“No. I don’t even know what the word means, but I’m starting to get a pretty good idea, so why don’t you just go ahead and confirm it for me,” she was practically shouting now, straining her sore throat.

He made his way over, handing her a large wooden cup. She took it from him and gave it a sniff.

“Water?” She looked up at him hopefully. He nodded and she took a sip. Darcy closed her eyes at the relief that danced across her tongue and down her parched throat. And then she began to chug it down.

“Wait, Darcy,” Loki waved his hand in her direction. She found she could no longer move or drink. “Do not drink too quickly or you will be sick. You are severely dehydrated and malnourished.”

He waved his hand again, and she pulled the cup away from her lips with a huff and a roll of her eyes. She knew he was right. It was one of the few things she remembered from her first-aid class, which she thought was three credit hours but was actually only two which explained part of her credit deficiency that led to her taking on Jane’s internship.

Loki crouched down in front of her closer to her eye level. He was looking directly into her eyes with a sorrowful and apologetic expression.

“Thor told Ragnar we were taking you back as a thrall to protect you and to explain why we would want you to return to the village with us,” he explained, still leaving Darcy without a direct answer.

“So, I’m your, your, your--” She couldn’t even get the word out of her mouth, the taste of it already sitting on her tongue ready to trigger a fresh wave of nausea. Loki hung his head, looking down at the rough wooden floor of the cabin.

“Your slave?!” Darcy shouted as she stood abruptly, the wooden cup spilled to the floor. She glared down in anger and Loki looked up at her, pleading for understanding. “I’m a fucking slave! Are you fucking kidding me? No fucking way!” Having once again found her voice and energy in her fit of rage, she shoved passed him and moved to the door, flinging it open only to find a blinding blizzard outside. She felt the bitter cold down to her bone instantly and slammed the door shut, staring at it’s wooden planks, keeping her back to Loki. She took in deep long breaths, her chest lifting with each intake of air.

“You are not--” Loki began but halted when Darcy held her hand up in the air with a grunt to signal him to stop.

“Why is it blizzarding on the other side of this door?” Darcy walked over to the wooden shutters tightly secured over what she assumed was a window. She unlatched and yanked them open. “And not outside this window.” She looked through the wavy glass window out at the village.

“Because that door is a portal,” he answered matter-of-factly.

“Of course it is. What about this window?”

“No. It is just an illusion.”

“So if we aren’t in the village, where are we?

“In my cabin in the mountains.”

“Wait,” she spun around and looked more closely at the space around her. It had similarities to the cabin in the arctic circle. “Are we back in the north?”

“No, but it is the same idea. You are perceptive. We were inside my mountain cabin then as well, but I used illusions to change details just as I am now. How else could we have been so loud inside the cabin without Jarl Borg and his men finding us?”

“Why the hell couldn’t you just portal us back here and avoid the whole torture by salt water thing? Or heck, portal us somewhere else entirely. Somewhere I don’t have to be an effing slave,” she roared at him, her body shaking, anger burning in her chest.

“That would have exposed the mission Thor and I are on. I was already maintaining a double in Thor’s likeness on one of the other ships as soon as Ragnar and his men were in sight back on that beach in the north.”

“Oh. I was wondering where he was,” Darcy said glumly, shoulders slumped as she leaned back against the wall of rough-cut timber and hardened clay. 

Loki carefully approached her. “Darcy, you are not a slave. You are not a thrall. Things will work out.”

“How can you be so sure?” She asked, shaking her head with doubt.

“We know these people. And if any trouble arises, Thor and I will be able to get us out of it. Please trust us.”

Darcy didn’t respond. She just returned to the comfort of the chair by the fire. Loki watched her for a few moments and then picked up the wooden cup and handed it back to her, filled again with fresh water. She took the cup and glared into the flames, watching them dance around and lick the firewood.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Loki remove his cloak and leather armor. She wondered why he didn’t just use his magic to remove those things. He groaned as he lifted his shirt over his head. Darcy turned her head in his direction to see a bloody gash across his shoulder blade.

She sat straight up. “Loki, why didn’t you tell anyone you were injured? Why didn’t you heal already? Don’t you Asgardians heal super fast?”

Grabbing a jar and what looked like cloth bandages from the table, he turned toward her, the fire light flickering on him. She had to consciously tear her eyes away from his half naked body, looking down at the cup in her hand after a moment too long. She should be so mad at this man but Devil Donald Duck was dancing in her mind again. She bit down on her lip.

“I have been using so much of my power to hold up illusions that my healing process has slowed,” he explained as he sat on the stool at the end of the fireplace, setting the items on the small table nearby. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him wince and struggle to treat his injury. 

“Oh, for goodness sake,” she set her cup on the ground as she got up and walked over to him, sticking her hand out palm up, curling her fingers in a give-me gesture. He looked up at her through long tendrils of his hair that had fallen out of the leather tie and hung in his face. She had a sudden flash of the bruised and worn-down man sitting back in the cell in the 21st century. She knew then that the Loki in front of her now had let down his guard around her. He looked down and set the small jar filled with some kind of salve in her hand.

Walking around to his back, she assessed the injury. It seemed to have already been healing, not as quickly as an Asgardian, but definitely faster than a human. He must have gotten this wound before she and Thor had joined the group at the cabin up north. She began to gently apply the salve to the wound, hearing him hiss at her initial touch. Quickly his shoulders relaxed.

“What are these scars from?” She asked him as she noticed a pattern of faint raised markings on his back.

“I have no scars. I do not know what you are speaking of,” he said sharply as if offended that she suggested he was anything but perfect. She looked back down at his skin and saw nothing.

“Nevermind. I’m so exhausted, I must be seeing things,” she shook her head as if to clear her eyesight. “If you don’t mind me asking, how much older than you is Thor?”

“Less than a Midgardian year.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were that close in age. Though what does it really matter when your life span is counted in centuries and millennia rather than years.”

“How far in the future are you from?” He asked, turning his ear toward her.

“I could give you a number but I think that would be meaningless since I don’t think the year and date system we use has been created yet,” Darcy said in exasperation, realizing she may never know the exact number of years she had traveled back in time. “If I remember correctly, Viking civilization was at its height more than a thousand years before I was alive.”

“I am still alive in one thousand years. Hmm,” Loki thought out loud. She could practically see the gears turning in his head. “Vikings? Is that what these people are called in the future?”

“Hmm. I guess. I didn’t realize they didn’t call themselves Vikings.” It was now Darcy’s turn to look contemplative.

‘So, how did you learn magic but Thor didn’t?” She asked, trying to keep her mind on the conversation and off his shirtless torso as she applied the salve. She found this question worked well as Loki shared with her that Odin was a distant father, sharing few if any warm moments with his second son. This led Loki to spend more time with his mother, a master of magic in her own right. As he spoke of the connection he had with his mother, his affection for her was clear.

Darcy couldn’t help that she was beginning to feel an intimacy with an understanding of this Loki as she listened. She had grown up in Virginia outside of D.C., her mother a high-profile civil rights lawyer with little time for her. Any extra time her mom had, she spent with her older sister. Her father, on the other hand, was a career employee at the capitol building in D.C. Whenever Darcy was off of school, he would take her to work and she would sit in the congressional chambers and watch politicians at work for hours. She and her father would discuss what she had observed that day and what ideas she thought could help solve the problems brought up in Congress on their ride home. She understood how Loki felt like a second child, a strong bond to the quieter parent, the one out of the spotlight. 

He must have been feeling the same sense of intimacy because he raised his hand to touch her face and then dropped it. She hadn’t even realized she had finished with the salve and was standing before him, lost in his aegean blue eyes. She felt fluttering in her abdomen. She broke eye contact, dropping her eyes toward the floor as her self-doubt began creeping into her mind. There is no way this good-looking Norse god alien would be attracted to her.

To avoid the awkwardness, she looked around the room making a mental note, a confirmation that she was no longer in the 21st century. There was no electricity, no carpeting, everything made out of solid wood.

“Well, let’s get this wound wrapped up,” she said, grabbing the linen strips. She worked her way around him, wrapping the linen bandage across his wound, under his opposite arm and back around across his chest, over and over. As she was reaching around she slipped a bit and sat on his leg to brace herself.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’m just trying to get a better angle to wrap this securely.” He reached toward her neck and pulled out the thin gold chain that held a small Star of David.

“What is this?” He asked, examining the charm.

“Oh, um, it is a symbol of my ancestors. A symbol of Judaism.”

“So, your god is Yahweh.”

“Yes, well, sort of, I mean, I thought I was an atheist and then I met Thor and then I found out about you and Odin and the whole gang and then you told me the Greek gods are real so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you know who Yahweh is and that he might be real, too.” She trailed off as she looked away from Loki, still perched on his leg.

“I have never met Yahweh but my father knows of his tales. He is an ancient god,” he looked down at the charm again. “You must keep this hidden. I have seen how they treat Christians who openly wear crosses. I can hide this for you with your other belongings.”

“No,” Darcy shouted as she snatched the necklace from Loki’s fingers. She looked down at the golden six-pointed star, tears breaching the corners of her eyes. “This belonged to my grandmother who survived the Holocaust. It is all I have of my family here with me now.”

“Your ancestors were slaughtered? Do these things still happen millennia from now? Who? How?” Loki looked at her with genuine concern and a touch of his burning curiosity.

“About 50 years before I was born. Do these things ever stop happening?” She looked directly at him, knowing that in her time he had attempted to take over Earth, something Hitler himself desired. “They were human and full of hate.” There was a bite to her words, her anger from the knowledge of what her grandmother endured, and how her ancestors perished. Her anger at what 21st century Loki had inflicted on people. Especially on Erik, who had become a father figure to her during her time away from her family.

Her family. She hadn’t seen them since Hanukkah last year. She was beginning to regret not taking the time to visit them more often. Ever since her grandmother had passed away, she traveled back less and less. And now, she was realizing if Thor can’t find the Tesseract, she may never see them again.

All at once her sorrow and exhaustion hit her as she gave in and rested her weary head on Loki’s shoulder. The tears streamed from her eyes as she sobbed. She felt him put his arms around her. She was too tired, too far gone to put up a fight so she welcomed the comforting gesture.

“There is no need to fear me, Darcy,” he spoke softly. “I can tell there is something in our future that sets the two of us at odds. But here and now, you can trust me.” At his words, she released the last of the tension in her body, leaning her full weight into him, letting him truly hold her as she sucked in the remainder of her sobs.

“You need to eat,” he continued, standing her up and leading her to the table where a bowl of broth and fresh bread had appeared. Without even questioning it, she sat down and slowly fed herself. She yawned as she ate the last of the warm bread.

“Get some sleep,” he said as he gestured toward the one large bed in the cabin.

“You need to rest, too. Where will you sleep?”

“You need not worry about that.”

With a small movement of his hand, she found herself in a long linen nightgown of sorts and climbed up onto the bed and under the many layers of fur blankets. She set her head on the pillow and fell asleep so fast she didn’t even hear Loki leave the cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Your kudos, subscriptions, and bookmarks bring a smile to my face. Your comments keep me motivated and writing.
> 
> Come find me on tumblr @sapphire-reverie
> 
> A note about Loki's cabin: In Norse mythology, Loki has a cabin in the mountains on Midgard. So I played with that idea. I read about this cabin in Neil Gaiman's book "Norse Mythology".


	7. The Earl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy goes before the Earl of Kattegat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my spectacular beta @river--glass (on Tumblr), awesome as always!

Darcy woke up once again with only a vague recollection of where she was. She was warm but could tell the air around her was bitterly cold. As she heard the voice again that had initially awakened her, she remembered her current state of being much quicker.

“Come now, Darcy. It is time to wake up. You’ve slept most of the day away,” she heard a soft but firm voice urge. She opened her eyes to see Helga, Floki’s girlfriend? Was that even a term in medieval times? 

Darcy groaned as she stretched under the covers, preparing to face the icy cold air of the room around her.  Sitting up, Darcy watched as Helga took a steaming pot off the fire and poured it into a large wooden basin.

“Hurry up. It won’t stay warm for long,” Helga encouraged as she put the kettle down by the fire. Darcy reluctantly slid her legs off the side of the bed and stepped out from under the fur blankets. She tip-toed over to the basin, shivering all the way

“Wait, where is Loki?”

“Go on. Get in,” Helga urged. “No need to worry about him at the moment.” Confirming that the God of Mischief was not in the room, Darcy sucked in her breath and braced herself to undress. She looked at Helga waiting for her to move elsewhere to give her privacy but the woman stayed in place with a concerned expression.

“Okay, I guess this is happening,” she mumbled under her breath as she began to try to work her way out of the nightgown, her arms aching from her journey. Before she knew it, Helga was helping her lift her nightgown over her head. Darcy quickly slid into the already lukewarm bath, crossing one arm over her chest and the other between her legs.

Helga brought her some sort of soap and other items to wash up with, offering to scrub Darcy’s back.

“It’s okay, Helga. I’ve got it,” she quickly told the kind woman, trying to hold on to some small sense of privacy. “Thank you so much for your help. Why are you doing all of this for me? I’m just a thrall.” 

“You are no thrall,” Helga spoke softly, smiling as she stirred the contents of a large pot over the fire. The scent of the food sent rumbles through Darcy’s stomach. “Floki told me who you really are.” At that, Darcy dropped the chunk of soap into the water.

“Loki told him?” She couldn’t believe he would be so unguarded with her secret.

“No. Not exactly. We can tell through the way Loki protects you. The way he looks at you.”

The way he looks at her? Now Darcy was confused.

“Helga, who do you think I am?”

“Why, Sigyn, of course,” the woman laughed, beaming at Darcy. “And I know, you won’t ever truly admit it. You gods have your ways and reasons. I will not tell anyone else. We are just feeling blessed that you and Loki are here in Kattegat.”

“Sigyn?” Darcy wondered as she slid back into the water to enjoy what little warmth was left. Why was that name so familiar? Where had she heard it? No matter, Helga and Floki thought she was Asgardian. She let out a small chuckle. If only, then maybe she wouldn’t be in this mess.

“Not too long ago,” Helga continued as she moved about the cabin, “a family in the village was visited by a stranger and Lagertha is certain it was Heimdall. For as soon as the stranger departed, the woman was with child. They had been struggling to conceive a child for years. Heimdall truly answered their prayers.”

Darcy smiled a bit at the fact that this woman was essentially sharing the village gossip with her. It was endearing. As she pondered Helga’s story, she was also no longer surprised that these people followed their Gods so fervently. In the short time she had been here, she had witnessed and heard how much the Asgardians interfered with the lives of these people.

Soon, Helga was standing beside the tub with a robe. As Darcy stood, she realized how much her entire body truly ached, now that the warm water had hidden the pain for a while. She reached for the other woman’s hand as she climbed over the edge of the basin, hoping not to collapse on her. Helga led her over to the bed where Darcy could see numerous items of clothing laid out before her. She stared at them, not knowing where to start.

“Um, Helga, I think I might need some help,” she said to the woman beside her who was already picking up a garment and returned her request with a smile.

First, Helga put her in a cream-colored linen underdress that went down to her ankles and to her surprise, once Helga laced the back, seemed to hold the ladies close to her body, providing support. This was followed by an emerald green wool strap dress with colorful embroidered patterns trimming the top.

“Did Loki pick out this dress,” Darcy asked, looking down at the green fabric.

“Floki thought green to be an appropriate color for Sigyn,” Helga answered in stride. “And I think it looks wonderful with your auburn hair.” Darcy tried to envision Floki and Helga’s conversation over dresses laid out before them.

She looked over the remaining items of clothing. “Um, do I need panties or underwear or something?” Darcy asked, not seeing anything resembling undergarments. Helga looked at her with confusion. “Okay, going commando then.”

Next, Helga helped her into a long-sleeved dark gray knit piece that wrapped around her chest and tied in the back, instantly warming her. As she sat slowly down onto a chair by the fire, Helga helped her into brown wool stockings and the same pair of warm soft leather boots Loki had given her back up north.

Helga stood Darcy back up and stepped back to see her work. Then, she sat her down again and went to work braiding her hair back out of her face. She could feel the woman creating small tight rows of braids above each of her ears. She wanted to see how she looked but there did not seem to be a mirror in the room. Were mirrors a thing in medieval Norway? If only Loki was here, but he probably would have held back as long as Helga remained in the cabin. Helga held out a beaded necklace with a large red-orange stone pendant and helped Darcy put it on. While Helga busied herself, Darcy put her Star of David back on. It was a small thing, a bit lost under the larger, more intricate necklace, but not completely hidden. She decided not to care. She wasn’t going to hide that part of her identity and would deal with whatever came.

Soon she was sitting by the warm fire with a steaming cup of what looked like oatmeal, which Helga informed her was porridge with dried cranberries. It was the best thing she’d eaten since arriving in medieval times and it filled her up.

“It is time to see the Earl,” Helga announced.

Darcy remembered from Erik’s little research projects into the history and mythology of his ancestors that an earl was like a mayor or governor of a village or region. With that thought of Erik’s research, Darcy remembered something else and stopped in her tracks, gently grabbing Helga’s arm.

“Wait, Sigyn is Loki’s wife. You think I’m Loki’s wife?!”

Helga just answered with a smile.

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

They made their way through the village to the largest longhouse, which Darcy could tell was the heart of the community. Even if the massive size alone didn't mark it as a structure of importance, the double door entrance and intricate wood carvings would have set it apart. Inside the longhouse was no less impressive. The space they walked into was a sort of throne room with Ragnar and his wife, Lagertha, sitting on large beautiful wooden chairs draped with fur on a dais, the long central fireplace spread out before them. Behind and to the side of the dais were beautiful wooden screens that seemed to divide the public space from the family’s private quarters. 

Floki, Rollo, and some of the other men she had seen on their voyage from the arctic circle were congregated near the far end of the fireplace. As soon as Floki saw them enter, he stood and stared, an almost reverent expression on his face. Darcy wasn’t sure if it was for the woman standing beside her that he loved dearly or for the woman he mistakenly thought was a Norse god. But Rollo’s glare and Floki’s frozen stance and lack of verbal greeting made her nerves start to fray a bit.

Darcy looked around for Loki. She saw a large loom at one end with a woven work in progress still attached to the warp. She could see women towards the back working on food preparation. Loki, however, was nowhere in sight.

“Helga, where is Loki?” She leaned and whispered to the woman next to her.

“He is out tending to his farm,” she responded as they approached the dais. “He will be back before the feast.” Helga gave her arm a little squeeze of reassurance. Darcy rolled her eyes at the idea of Loki actually tending a farm, fairly certain it was all an illusion.

“Welcome to Kattegat,” said Ragnar, leaning back in his throne with his arms spread in greeting.

“Th-thank you,” Darcy stuttered, unsure if a thrall was supposed to speak to the earl.

His smile unnerved her. She could almost see the gears turning in his head like he was planning a battle or playing a chess match. Darcy could feel the sweat in her palms. She broke Ragnar’s gaze to glance at Lagertha who was sitting with her back straight, slowly caressing the back of the gray cat on her lap. She returned her eyes to Ragnar as he leaned forward, setting his forearms on his knees, his hands hanging between holding a paring knife in one and a walnut in the other. He began to work the knife into the nutshell.

“This must be different from your homeland in England,” he said as she heard the crack of the walnut. Ragnar leaned back and tossed the edible nut into his mouth.

She stood speechless, staring at this intimidating man, unsure how or if to respond. He stared right back at her with his ice-blue eyes and same small cunning smile, seeming as if he was waiting for her to make a move.

He broke eye contact, looking out over her head, leaning back as he took in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

“Darcy of England,” he said as if he just wanted to know what the words sounded like from his own mouth. He leaned back in his chair. “But that is not who you are, is it?”

Darcy didn’t dare answer. She just stood there like a statue praying silently in her head for Loki or Thor to walk through those double doors.

“My dearest friend, Floki, tells me he believes you are a goddess of Asgard,” he looked to the end of the fireplace at Floki. “If this is the case, it would behoove me to treat you with respect and honor your presence.”

She remained frozen in place, her heart thudding in her chest. Should she go along with this or continue to pretend to just be a thrall or say nothing at all? She began to calculate in her head what her best move might be. 

“But my dearest brother tells me he believes you are a spy for Jarl Borg or maybe a spy for that gluttonous King of Northumbria, and somehow he has found a way to cross the seas as well,” he was leaning forward now, his eyes boring holes in her own.

“I am no spy,” she said with confidence. She wasn’t a spy. She knew that was safe to say. “I do not know this Jarl Borg aside from him attempting to rape me and as for Northumbria, I have never been there before in my life.” At least she was fairly certain she hadn’t been there. She couldn't quite remember where that was in England.

“The man does have a bad reputation," said Lagertha as she continued to stroke the gray cat on her lap. "The curious thing is what you were doing that far north all alone.”

“I’m just little old me,” she shrugged with a crooked smile, believing this to be her safest move. “I’m nobody. I’m not important.”

“Yes. I think you may be just a slave taken from the English shore long ago, well before Thor found you. Somehow you made your way to that northern village, and you ran away to find freedom,” his eyes narrowed. “I hope that bringing you back with us does not bring darkness upon us, a disgruntled man searching for his servant.”

“There is no disgruntled man, I can assure you,” Darcy bit back.

He smiled a wide almost goofy grin, his eyes going wide, and he leaned back. “Good. Because you seem to understand politics and that intrigues me. I am a curious man. I want to know more of your story and hear your thoughts on some issues I am dealing with.”

Darcy gave a small nod and smile as she worriedly squeezed her thumbs in her fists at her side. Where was Loki? Where was Thor?

“In the meantime, you are welcome to feast with us, seeing as Floki believes you are a goddess, it is best I err on the side of caution and treat you as such.” He gave a small laugh at this and looked over at Floki.

A small wave of relief flowed over her only to be dashed when he added:

“Until I find out who you really are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Your kudos, subscriptions, and bookmarks bring a smile to my face. Your comments keep me motivated and writing.  
> Come find me on tumblr @sapphire-reverie
> 
> Chapter notes:
> 
> In Norse mythology, Sigyn is Loki's wife. She is also his wife in the Marvel comic books.
> 
> Heimdall visits Kattegat - see episode 1.08: http://vikingsscenesandquotes.blogspot.com/2015/06/lagertha-on-court-as-judge-heimdall.html
> 
> Clothes and jewelry of the Vikings - National Museum of Denmark: https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/the-people/clothes-and-jewellery/
> 
> Viking food - National Museum of Denmark: https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/food/
> 
> Ælle, King of Northumbria: https://vikings.fandom.com/wiki/%C3%86lle
> 
> The gray cat: In Norse mythology, cats were the favored animal of Freyja, the goddess of fertility. At this point in the Vikings timeline, Lagertha has recently had a miscarriage and is desperate to give Ragnar more sons to fulfill the prophecy told to him by The Seer. Also, in one particular Norse myth, the Midgard serpent is disguised as a gray cat. The Midgard serpent is one of Loki's children within Norse mythology. https://www.ancient.eu/article/1313/norse-pets-in-the-viking-age/#:~:text=The%20Vikings%20kept%20dogs%20and,%2C%20hawk%2C%20and%20the%20peacock.

**Author's Note:**

> Things to Hold You Over Until the Next Chapter
> 
> I post excerpts from the next chapter of this fic every Sunday on my Tumblr: sapphire-reverie
> 
> MY WRITING PLAYLISTS  
> [My Vinlander Writing Playlist Part 1](https://sapphire-reverie.tumblr.com/post/626191347938951168/my-vinlander-writing-playlist-part-1)
> 
> MY RESEARCH RABBIT HOLES  
> [Photos of Tromsø, Norway](https://sapphire-reverie.tumblr.com/post/625995094684827648/things-i-learn-about-while-researching-to-write-my)
> 
> [Viking Arms & Armour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_Age_arms_and_armour)
> 
> [Inspiration for Darcy's Medieval Viking Clothing](https://sapphire-reverie.tumblr.com/post/626301086458888192/inspiration-for-darcys-medieval-viking-clothing)
> 
> [Inspiration for Loki's Medieval Viking Look](https://lolawashere.tumblr.com/post/168963008572/aleksi-briclot-loki-in-thor-ragnarok)  
> [More Inspiration for Loki's Medieval Viking Look](https://ashes-acedia.tumblr.com/post/173273925442/a-loki-from-way-back-in-2011)
> 
> [Village of Kattegat](https://sapphire-reverie.tumblr.com/post/632541306471776256/fic-research-rabbit-hole-the-fictional-viking)
> 
> [Viking long ships](https://sapphire-reverie.tumblr.com/post/632543750960431105/fic-research-rabbit-hole-viking-long-ships)
> 
>   
> ***My Reference Materials***
> 
> FILM  
> Thor (2011) directed by Kenneth Branagh  
> The Avengers (2012) directed by Joss Whedon  
> Thor: The Dark World (2013) directed by Alan Taylor
> 
> TELEVISION  
> Outlander (2014-present) - Network: Starz  
> Vikings (2013-2020) - Network: History Channel
> 
> BOOK  
> Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman  
> Outlander by Diana Gabaldon  
> Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon  
> The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings by Lars Brownworth
> 
> WEB  
> Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki  
> Outlander Wiki  
> Vikingstv Wiki


End file.
